Lethal Love
by Creative Shadows
Summary: When Harry Potter is injured at a very young age, he is taken in by a nurse at the hospital. She gets custody and raises him. She seems to know and be more than she lets on. However, when tragedy strikes, Harry is overtaken by anger and is determined to continue what she taught him. Harry travels the world learning.He joins Hogwarts at 5th year.Full Summary semi-Dark Harry
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Nope, do not own Harry Potter

**Summary**: When Harry Potter is injured at a very young age, he is taken in by a nurse at the hospital. When she gets custody, she raises Harry. She seems to know and be more than she lets on. However, when tragedy strikes, Harry is overtaken by anger and is determined to continue what she taught him. Harry travels the world joins Hogwarts at 5th year, and he rocks the Wizarding world. Harry is slightly Dark, and from his travels he knows a lot of magic and cool stuff. Harry is a bit dark, but good.

**Warning:** A bit dark, not as long/chapter, I am not updating so often, Harry/Hermione.

A/N: Writing this as a break and until I have more time with PTBU. I will finish this though.

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Harry scrubbed the floor vigorously, his little arms aching and sore, his breathing rough from the exertion. He had just turned 5 years old, and he was being punished for asking his aunt why he did not have a cake like his cousin did.

He did not understand it. His young mind was lost and hurt, looking for a reason why his Aunt and Uncle hated him and love Dudley. He was unable to come up with anything, and his young mind was hurting. At his young age, the lack of love and positive attention was damaging and very unhealthy.

Of course, the hard labor and cruelty of work and punishments were at least as unhealthy. His Uncle had hit him for the first time a few days ago, and he still had a bruise on his chest. His uncle had not hit him too hard, except for the first hit, and Harry winced when he had to stretch or reach down, his chest would flex slightly and the bruise would cause pain to throb through him.

Every night when he went to bed in the tiny little cupboard, he would imagine his family. He knew he had one, a mother and a father. Even though they died in a car crash, and he remembered it, the green flash, strange laughter, he still knew they were with him, and imagined. He imagined his dad standing big and tall, the strongest dad holding him and telling him how he was going to grow up to also be big and strong.

He imagined his mother, beautiful and loving, holding him when he hurt, softly singing to him to help him sleep, and letting him eat as much as he wanted. He imagined his Mum and Dad telling him how much they loved him, and how they would react when he could read well, or build a really cool tower with lego's they would buy him.

Often he would cry, his tears falling in the silence, too afraid to make noise and get in trouble. He would hug himself tight, curl up into a ball and whisper goodnight to the spiders that looked on with many eyes, silent but better company than anyone else he knew.

Today was especially bad for Harry. He was not sure why, but besides the hard work, he had a very bad feeling in his gut. He often had these feelings, and they were almost always right on some level. The day his uncle had beat him, he had the feeling even as he woke up that morning. Today it was especially bad, but different. He could feel a sense of dread, but it was much worse than a beating by his uncle.

Harry finished cleaning finally, his arms limp like dough at his sides, too heavy to lift more than necessary. His aunt walked in, her horse face tight and none-appreciative. He could see the look on her face, the look she had when she was not satisfied and would ask him to do it all again.

He was saved by the phone ringing. Aunt Petunia grabbed the phone and answered it, listening intently on the other side. She only listened with that much attention when fresh gossip could be heard, and by the pressure on the other side, it was clear to Harry the gossip was juicy.

"Are you sure? Is there any oddness? How about relationships? No way!..." and on and on. Harry snuck past her, and made his way as quick as he could to his cupboard. He lay down with a sigh, his chest ached and made his breath come out in a bit of a wheeze, though he was out of breath as well.

Suddenly loud thumping and gleeful laughter rang from above Harry's head, waking him up with a startled yelp. It was Dudley again, his pudgy cousin was bouncing on the stairs above Harry's head, purposely causing dust to fall on Harry, and of course to annoy and bother him too.

Harry ignored it, he was already beginning to get used to the behavior. He had only started being a real bully about a year ago. Before that he was just a child, and although he was not allowed to play with Harry, or treat him like a fellow child his age, he had not really cared much either way for his younger smaller cousin. He had even helped Harry with some food when he was three, but he was caught and Harry was not given food for an extra whole day. Dudley never tried again, and had not been so eager to do so in the first place, his human instinct had caused him to take pity on the hungry child his age.

Harry stepped out of the cupboard and ducked a wadded up ball of something yellow, perhaps tape or colored paper. Dudley sneered at Harry before waddling off to do something that captured his 5 year old mind.

Harry walked silently to the kitchen and his stomach growled when he smelled something cooking. He was not sure what it was, but it smelled like meat. Harry was starving, and after the hard work he had done for his aunt for two hours after he woke up, he just could not help but crave the food with all his being.

Suddenly something very strange happened, something that would change his life forever. The oven opened with a bang and a pan of steak flew out of the oven and smashed into him. The beef was extremely hot and it burned Harry. He screamed as the hot meat seared his skin, burning and causing immense pain to flash through his mind.

He only lasted a few more seconds before he passed out from the pain. Unknown to him of course, his scream had been amplified by magic and the entire block heard his screams of pain. In a matter of moments, the emergency services were called, and by the time Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia actually went over to see what was wrong, two cop cars and an ambulance pulled up, as well as more than a couple of nosey neighbors to see what happened.

Harry was carried off by a stretcher, a medic was putting something on Harry and dabbing something on his skin. However, it was not clear what was going on as Harry was quickly rushed off to the hospital. All Vernon could think of was his ruined steak, and Aunt Petunia; the bad image she was sure this was giving her.

Dudley actually looked shocked, and the image of Harry's face screwed in extreme pain even unconscious, as well as his puffy red skin made Dudley feel only sadness for his cousin. He was still too young to harbor true stubbornness for his bullying of Harry. The image of Harry like that would forever be seared into the older cousin.

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Hope you enjoyed, leave your comments if you wish :) Most chapters will range from 2k-5k but I will have more chapters than PTBU.

Note: Feel free to check my profile for updates and information. I update it often.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter

A/N: Read on =]

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It was past midnight, the stars twinkled bright in the sky and the occasional owl hooted its call, breaking the silence. Merlyn Hospital was a small hospital and had very few patients going through its doors at any given time. It was not any particular reason, perhaps a mix of location, size and the horror stories a journalist had published about strange flashes of lights and evil witches.

Harry was lying in a warm bed, the blanket wrapped around him comfortably, and despite a very intense pain spiking up every time he moved, he never felt so comfortable in terms of sleeping conditions.

Harry suppressed a shiver as he tried his best to snuggle deeper into the bed. Every time he moved his body, the burns seemed to scrape painfully, even at the slightest touch. He accidently jerked a little too fast down, and had to stuff his fist into his mouth to avoid shrieking at the amount of agony he felt.

He opened his eyes for the first time, trying to stay very still as his eyes roved over his new location.

He was lying in a very pleasant looking room. The walls were a warm brown with a large painting in the center of the front wall. The painting was trimmed in a beautiful gold design, and the painting itself was a landscape, so beautiful and detailed, Harry could almost swear the trees swayed ever so slightly, and the stream flowing down the majestic mountains swirled and flowed its crystal blue water, lightly foaming at bends and turns.

Harry's focus moved to the corner of the room, where he could barely see the top of a wardrobe from where he was laying on his back. The wardrobe was made of a deep rich mahogany wood, and was shiny and clean like it was brand new.

The room also had a carpet that Harry could barely see when he looked at the corner of his eyes near the door. The carpet looked thick and soft, a dark red hue that looked like it could have come right off a fox.

Harry's eyes began to droop and soon he was fast asleep. He dreamt of soft things, and his child mind concocted dreams that only a child could truly understand. A small smile graced his pale cheeks, as the dreams eased the pain and he was temporarily free of his physical aches.

About two hours later, Harry woke up to a gentle voice calling his name. Harry opened his eyes groggily, and noticed that he had a window on his left side, the opposite from the door. The blinds that covered the window had been shut, and the room had been rather dimly lit so he had not noticed it. Now he saw bright sunlight pouring its startling golden rays into his room, brightening everything and illuminating the figure standing next to his bed, a glass of water in one hand, a large tray in the other.

Harry instantly noticed the tray was filled with food, and lots of it. His stomach growled and the woman giggled, smiling at the young lad. Harry looked at her now for the first time. She looked like she was in her early thirties, long brown hair and light brown eyes. She radiated warmth and smiles, and Harry instantly felt at ease. She smiled again and in a soft spoken voice she repeated, "Would you like to eat Harry? You must be terribly hungry. You should drink this too"

Harry nodded, forcing himself to take the food slowly. He accidently spilled the water on himself, but weirdly she turned around and he was dry. He shrugged to himself as she turned back around to face him, not really in a curious mood. He tried to take a bite, but at his position it was a bit difficult.

"Here let me help you out. I'm Lisa by the way"

Lisa helped Harry up gently, and he bit his tongue when he felt the pain of the movements. When he was sitting up enough to be able to eat comfortably, he gobbled up his food quickly. His body was growing, and at five years old he needed every bit of food he could get.

"Don't eat too fast, you'll get yourself sick" Lisa admonished him gently, though she was smiling as she said it. Inside she was angry though, the signs of abuse were so blaringly clear. He was not beaten much, of that she could tell. However, even if he was, the main damage was his growth. If he ate the same amount he always ate at home, he would grow up shorter than most people his age and his eyesight would be very poor, even worse than it already was genetically.

She had an idea, and with magic she was sure she could get it done. Lisa was the perfect person to have a double life. She was kind, sweet and caring as a person, but when it came down to protecting those she loved she changed. Since her husband, brother, Uncle and two cousins had been killed by Death Eaters, she had changed. A seed that had been far too deep to be noticeable before had come out.

She had made a decision to train to become something more. It had taken time, for even with her grief and mind made up, and with plenty of money and power, it was not easy becoming someone, no…something, that was so different than her true nature.

She had been trained in the United States for three years, learning at an elite school for Aurors. After that she went to Egypt where she learned a form of the Dark Arts. It was generally not evil, but did deal with some pretty scary spells and magic.

However, even with all that training she had been unable to save her parents from being personally killed by Voldemort. When it happened, she had become even more obsessed with growing stronger. She had succumbed to her hatred, and with the help of an Egyptian witch, she forged a new identity. She wore a cloak coated with blue glowing runes. The cloak gave the person wearing it extreme speed, strength and it amplified magic used as well.

She was nick named "Star" because when she moved in battle the blue runes would blend and often looked like many thousands of moving glittering stars.

When the war was over, and Harry Potter defeated Voldemort, she had been relieved. She never wanted to fight or kill, and although she was glad she had in many ways, she was still regretful and saddened that she had gone so drastic.

So in perspective dealing with the Dursleys was nothing compared to what she had done. She would mess with their memories, and give Harry a good home. Besides, she knew that Harry Potter had a huge destiny ahead. She heard rumors from an old friend that there was a prophesy in the Department of Mysteries, one that according to her, might have something to do with Harry Potter.

Besides, the Dursleys obviously did not want Harry Potter in their home and the way they treated him made her resolve that much stronger.

She would give them a mental push to move away, since Harry's leave could mess with whatever Dumbledore had probably put up to protect them.

She looked over at Harry who was licking the plate clean, and although she knew children did that sometimes, he looked far too needy doing it. She made a decision right then and there. Pulling out her wand she waved it and the plate refilled. She had made just enough in the kitchen, he would probably not finish his second huge plate full.

"Harry, how would you like to have all the food you ever wanted, a room like this all for yourself, and you could learn magic?"

Harry's face turned blank, and for a second she was sure something was wrong. She could see the wheels turning when she looked into his eyes, and sure enough his face split into a huge grin.

"Yea-aurgh!" he screamed as he half-leapt out of bed in excitement. Lisa waved her wand and his burns numbed. It was better not to use that spell too often, it could stunt the healing process. His look of relief was comical, and he sighed loudly and dramatically. Lisa giggled with amusement, her eyes shining with amusement.

The room Harry was in was meant for magical patients. A Wizarding village nearby had enough medical needs that they made a private room for magical folk instead of going to Saint Mungos, unless it was really bad. However, the Muggle Doctors often walked in despite the light Muggle repellents on the doors. Perhaps their doctor senses pushed them farther than they would otherwise.

"Mr. Potter?" a deep male voice cut across their conversation as a doctor in a doctor's coat and a stethoscope around his neck walked in. Lisa sighed with obvious exasperation, waved her wand and in a very polite tone told him, "You checked Mr. Potter. His burns are healed enough that he can be discharged. His guardian took him and everything is fine"

The Doctor's eyes glazed for a second, he nodded and walked out of the room. She felt bad doing it, but Harry Potter needed to be in good hands, and if her suspicions of the future were correct, Harry would need to have love, health, and eventually training to have a chance against Voldemort or any other dark that would probably pop up.

She would need to ask advice from a couple of friends as well as someone very wise, probably the oldest humans on earth. Nicolas Flamel and his wife would know if her decision was wise, and since they were friends with Dumbledore, they could tell her what Dumbledore was doing, and whether Dumbledore somehow actually did know what he was talking about.

**Two Weeks Later:**

When Harry had been "discharged", he had absolutely no wounds left on his body. Lisa had used a few potions to heal the wounds, and had explained magic and the Wizarding world to Harry. Harry being five years old had accepted it very quickly, especially when he had seen her potion's effects, and when she had done a few spells like conjure a dog.

Harry still had the dog, a golden retriever who Harry named Rusty for a reason only he seemed to understand. She explained in simple terms that often when someone conjured or transfigured, the object would stay that way forever*. Only when there was very little intent, magic or focus did the objects lose their form or very rarely revert back to what it was before. His Dog would stick around for a while.

Harry was absolutely fascinated, and from then on he soaked up all the information about magic he could. Lisa lived in a very large home, a mansion as it were, and Harry was so excited he began reading better and better, and he soaked all the information like a sponge.

The Dursleys moved to the US, somewhere in Florida, and they never knew a Harry Potter beyond vague recollections of Aunt Petunia having a niece way back when. Lisa filled the paperwork, pushed a few minds, and asked many people she trusted for advice. Almost all of them agreed, although Nicolas Flamel was a little uncertain because of his friendship with Dumbledore, but caved when his wife was convinced Lisa was doing the right thing. He agreed to break the news and explain it to Dumbledore.

Harry and Lisa would spend a lot of time together, and over the next few years a deep bond would grow. Harry quickly came to consider Lisa his Mum, and she cared for him like a son in return.

Harry's life took a vast upwards turn, and for the next five years he would be a vibrant kid growing up in the best environment, learning, loved, and full of life. He had a few Muggle friends who lived nearby, and for all intents and purposes, Harry was a normal child in both worlds to a degree.

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A/N:

Meryln Hospital is a random name. If there is a real one, not on purpose and no relation.

**: I have heard different rules to conjuring, so here is mine.

Dudley actually will come back into the story. I have an interesting idea for him.

Let me know what you think. I work better with shorter chapters, and it comes out better as far as I can tell. The chapters coming up are full of fun, and I will need to work hard to keep the action rated T not M+.

Thanks for reading =]


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

**Quick Recap:** _When Harry Potter is badly injured, he is taken to the hospital, where he meets a woman named Lisa. She instantly takes him in, pulling the strings needed to get the Dursleys to the US, and Harry to her home. Now Harry has had a nurturing, loving and productive childhood, showing signs of becoming a healthy young boy._

Enjoy!

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Nicolas Flamel was a very old man, even for magical standards. At 660 years old, he had seen and done more than anyone else on this planet, although perhaps not as much as his wife had. She was a true adventurer a couple hundred years ago, and had traveled the world, picking up magic and learning from cultures as she went.

There were some things that still connected him to humanity, but often he was more aloof and often thoughtful as the days melted by. The more time passed, the more he felt like his adventure was becoming a burden on his soul, and that death at this age would soon be the best option. His wife had been furious with him when he mentioned it twenty years ago, but he could see she was beginning to consider it as well.

The fact that they suspected Voldemort might come back somehow and the fact that their lives were rather boring lately caused the ancient couple to have these thoughts.

It all changed when he received a visit from a friend. Lisa had met the Flamels a few years back, around the time she had lost her parents. She had come to ask him to bring them back using Alchemy or anything. They were not able to do so, the stone did not revive the dead merely kept one alive. Strangely she had been less disappointed than they had expected, or at least on the outside it looked that way, but they could see it was being used to fuel her terrible anger and determination to be stronger.

She had stayed with them for over a month on their private island, and had taught her very basic alchemy, as well as some ancient lost spells. When she left they gave her a gift that Nicolas was still not sure they should have given her. The gift was a time turner, except it could go back 48 hours, adjust to carry more people and the material was so strong and magically protected that almost any spells that hit it would bounce back or dissipate, thus protecting the chest of the person wearing it. It was a dangerous artifact because of its addictive nature, and time was a risky thing to play around with.

Lisa had recently walked up to their island gates, and when she had entered she had quickly explained that she had Harry, that he had been abused, and that she was taking him in. Inside Nicolas was absolutely boiling with anger at Dumbledore. Dumbledore was probably his biggest friend and most trusted ally, and this information made him sick. However, Dumbledore was a good man, and Nicolas was struggling to believe that there was not some sort of misunderstanding.

Perenelle Flamel was even more angry, and it was positively terrifying when her eyes landed on her husband's unsure face. She was radiating power and authority, and although their relationship always had been mutual and equal, she could fight much better than he could due to her adventures, and when she got really mad like she was now, she could throw a nasty jinx or two that he was not eager to feel again.

Nicolas was not a fool though. Unlike Dumbledore, he had aged with his brilliant wife by his side, and they had kept each other sane and rather humble. They also asked the advice of a couple friends every once in a while, though most of their friends were now dead, as were the "newer" friends. He sighed and raised his arms up in surrender, before taking his leave, destination Dumbledore.

He would need to speak to Dumbledore right away, as he was sure Dumbledore was probably already freaking out about what was happening. He must have had some monitors, maybe he even checked in on the boy every once in a while. Though he doubted it if the boy was being abused.

When he did talk to Dumbledore, by the time the heated conversation ended, Dumbledore re-broke his nose and was left with large slimy tentacles for a beard. He had also understood how wrong he was when Nicolas was done with him. Despite all rumors that Dumbledore was the strongest wizard alive, he barely held a candle to a raging Nicolas Flamel.

Nicolas sighed happily as he lay back on a recliner on his private beach, his beautiful wife next to him, also smiling lightly. They both looked like they were much younger, especially Perenelle who made sure here appearance was always pleasant and beautiful. It was something that grounded her, just like for her husband it was reading Muggle novels in his spare time.

They never felt more alive now that they knew the world had many large surprises coming up in the near future. They could just sense it in their bones and magic, a shift in the air. Big things were coming, and they were going to stick around to help out.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**Five Years Later**

Harry walked home from school alone, pondering what had caused his friends Alex, Kyle, and Rose to leave without him. He knew he was missing something important, but it was slipping his mind. Harry went to a school a few minutes walking distance away. Lisa had taken many precautions both magically and none magically to make sure her son Harry was safe. She now fully considered him her son, and she would not have loved a child she had given birth to any more than Harry.

Harry had made quite a few friends, and excelled in school, learning math and all subjects on a level far beyond the very simple work his class was doing. He was on an echelon of his own, but Lisa made sure he stayed in the same grade with extra work, because she wanted him to have friends, and his friends were very close to him.

His friends were not magical but strangely all three kids had at least one close relative who was a squib, and they all knew about magic and the magical world. Lisa suspected it was because of the rather large magical village nearby where most of the squibs probably filtered outwards, and ended up living nearby.

As Harry neared his home he once again noted how lucky he was. He was living in a huge house that somehow stayed warm and lovely despite its large and spacious interior. He had great friends, a loving mother, and all the food and comfort he could ever hope for. If you included magic, he felt like the most special person in the world.

He walked through the bronze coated gates, a chill creeping up his spine as he passed the powerful wards. He walked up a cute path surrounded on both sides by lush green grass and the spell of spring and after-rain.

Near the edge of the mansion, a small gurgling stream snaked its way around the home, and the soft sound of water flowing and splashing gave him a calm and relaxing feeling as he walked up to the door.

He was greeted at the door by loud barking. "Rusty!" he yelled laughing as his dog jumped on him, licking his face and standing on two legs. "Where is everyone else hmm?" He asked his dog, and the golden retriever calmed down a bit, and jabbed his head in the direction of a large couch towards the back of the huge living room slightly further down the hall. His dog was much smarter than normal, most probably because of Lisa, though she refused to admit what it was that made the dog smarter.

He frowned in confusion at the strange signal and walked into the room cautiously. Suddenly he jumped in surprise as he heard, "Surprise! Happy birthday!" Harry's smile beamed at his friends and Mum as they jumped out from behind the couch. They quickly led him into the dining room where balloons and a giant cake popped out of nowhere, and Harry's smile grew even wider.

"Thanks so much mates!" he gushed, and he hugged his friends before quickly sitting down and getting ready to move on with the celebration. After all, the cake was sitting there all alone, it badly needed his attention and who was he to ignore its delicious presence.

After they were stuffed with Lisa's home made cake, Rose pulled out a small gift and handed it to Harry. She bit her finger nails lightly in anticipation, and he opened it quickly. It was a friendship bracelet, and he beamed at the words on it, "Friends For Ever"

Harry hugged his friend and thanked her for her gift. Next Alex handed him a larger package, and inside he found a 1000 piece puzzle. Harry loved challenges, and he and his friends even timed each other on how fast they could complete the puzzles. For some reason Kyle always won despite the tall thin boy's usual airy and chilled out attitude.

Next Kyle handed Harry a round ball shaped package. Harry quickly ripped open the package and gasped in excitement. He pulled out a brand new football with England's team logo and name on it. Harry and his three friends played football all the time in Harry's massive yard, and Rose was exceptional at the game, so they tried to keep her Goalie to avoid being crushed by a girl.

Harry went to bed that night with the smile still gracing his now tired face. His cheeks were sore from all the laughing and smiling, but he could not help himself. Ever since he was taken in by Lisa, he absolutely loved his Birthdays, and although he only remembered missing one birthday because he had found out his birthday at four years old, he still yearned for his birthday every year.

The next day Harry jumped out of bed and took care of hygiene, grabbed a book on magical creatures that he was half finished reading and rushed downstairs, already deeply focused on the book. Lisa smiled at Harry for a moment and said, "Good morning Harry"

When he mumbled something barely coherent she lightly chided him, "Harry, you need to put the book down. Eat your breakfast and hurry off to school. You still want to walk right?"

Harry grumbled but listened to her instructions, nodding at her question. He always walked to and from school, he found it peaceful and relaxing and a perfect way to prepare for school mentally in the morning and wind down after. Although often he walked home with his friends, he still relaxed and had fun as they made their loud journey to his home.

That evening after Harry had come home and played some football with his friends with the new ball, Harry found his mother in the den staring at a letter in her hands. The letter was made of parchment, and Harry knew it must have been sent by a witch or wizard.

What scared him was his Mum's face. It held a mixture of horror and fear, as well as some white hot fury in her eyes. Her hands were shaking slightly as she stared at the letter in her hands, her knuckles clenched so tight they were white.

As soon as she noticed Harry, her face very quickly morphed into her usual self and all traces of her previous emotions and feelings were gone. Only Harry had already seen it, and he also noticed a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Mum?" Harry asked uncertainly, his eyes wide and his voice quivering slightly from the image he had seen. He hated seeing her so upset, and was not at all fooled by the sudden change in her expression.

At Harry's word her mask broke, and she broke down crying. Harry ran over to her, hugging her tight as she cried hard. A son should never see his mother cry and she regretted breaking down in front of him. However, she was unable to stop, as sorrow and grief quickly overwhelmed her control.

Besides, Harry was not letting his Mum cry alone. She was obviously in pain, and just like she had been there for him since the minute she met him, he was going to do the best he possibly could to help her too, even if just being there as a support. His ten year old mind was quite mature when it came to these matters, mostly because of Lisa's parenting.

Lisa was fighting hard to stay Lisa and not the assassin/warrior Star she had turned into in the war. Harry's presence slowly calmed her down, but she was still very tense and hurt. The letter she had received had the following:

_Dear Lisa,_

_There is no easy way of saying this, especially in an informal letter. So I will just get the point. Earlier this morning three men dressed like Death Eaters entered our temple and slaughtered five of our people. Chloe is recovering slowly from severe injuries and she took them out, but we were all caught by surprise. Sandy, John, Jamil, Xavier and Sara were killed. I'm so sorry. Their funeral is going to be a private affair, but feel free to tap this letter and say, "Revenge" and you will be brought here._

_Again, I feel your pain and I am so sorry_

_~Liam_

She had just lost most of her closest friends to a bunch of Death Eaters. She doubted they were sent by anyone, they had most likely taken revenge, the temple in Egypt had actually hurt the Death Eaters in odd ways. The most obvious was the damaging of most extreme purebloods around the world, making sure they stayed on their toes and were nervous to even think of aiding Voldemort.

She had trained in the temple, and had learned much of her magic and skills there. Now she had a choice, a choice that she knew was really a horrible one. If she left with the letter, she would be star for a little while, she would need to hunt down a couple death eaters. From the message she noticed light hints that only she would get and apparently there were some Death Eaters who had been involved but had not been in the action.

However, if she left she was in danger, and Harry could not afford to lose her. She told herself she could easily take down a few rogue Death Eaters safely, but she was kidding herself if she thought she was actually safe. On the other hand, every fiber of her being was screaming to take care of the Death Eaters. If she did not, they would probably come looking for her next, and she would put Harry in danger as well.

Looking into her son's bright green eyes fully of worry and concern, she made her decision. She would prepare for an attack, but she would not get revenge. Harry needed her in his life, and she could not die on him now. She gazed lovingly at her son as she made her choice, she would not lose another loved one because of rash actions.

Little did she know, her choice was to be here biggest mistake she ever made, as twisted as that was.

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To Be Continued…

Review if you please, let me know what you think, I promise you I read and consider every review.

Hermione is a main character, but only after Harry goes to Hogwarts which is in a few more chapters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter.

**Warning:** Violence, Death, Dark

Enjoy!

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The next few days passed by in nervous tension. Lisa drove Harry and his friends to school in her magically and physically customized car. The car resembled a Lamborghini in many ways, sleek and beautiful. Like many magical "structures" the car inside could expand to hold up to thirty people. The car could also reach more than double the speeds of the fastest car around. With unlimited trunk space, offensive and defensive capabilities, and the ability to squeeze through traffic and avoid being noticed made her car quite the impressive vehicle.

Her husband George had made the car for their honeymoon. George was a large man, very fit and healthy which was odd for Wizarding folks, and it was even more so because he loved science, Muggle tech and especially their weapons. Lisa had a huge stash of Muggle weapons in the manor's cellar that had been modified to be stronger and more powerful, often using a lot of magic.

Lisa was worried about the feelings in her gut. Her instincts were screaming danger and warnings and it got much worse almost suddenly on a dreary Tuesday morning, six days after the letter and the bad news.

Her heart was thumping far too fast as she got out of bed, sweat covered her body in a glistening sheen. Her body was so energized and alive, with every nerve on edge and she felt like her body was at the ready to pounce. She moved like a cat in hunting, stealthily moving to the bathroom. It was her instincts alone, her mind was focused almost fully on the images flashing through her head.

Flashes of her husband lying at her feet, eyes blank and misty, a small smile on his face as death overtook him, her tears of shock and pain splashing down on his unmoving chest.

Her brother sitting in his favorite chair in his apartment, a shocked look on his cold and lifeless face, a novel in one hand, his wand loose and sadly pulled out to late in the other.

Her parents lying in bed, gazing at each other lovingly, killed by the killing curse while neither were unaware the killers were there and about to strike.

Her uncle lying on top of a bleeding little girl, his daughter who had already been hit by the first spell. He had been protecting her when he collapsed on her. He had taken the killing curse and the Death Eater had left quickly, the job was done, but her cousin Sandy had died of blood loss at six years old.

The final image had been the worst, so horrible and traumatizing that Lisa could barely think of the memory without hot tears falling down her cheeks. Her other cousin Lacy was 12 years old and a fighter. She had a friend over, and she had taken down four Death Eaters before she had been overwhelmed by the other five who had come as backup when the last Death Eater called for backup. The friend had escaped because of Lacy's bravery and will. Lacy had been one of the biggest motivators for her to kill Death Eaters. She had died a horrible death but she had fought to the very end fighting for her friend and life.

Lisa was going to honor her memory by making sure the rest of her loved ones were safe, and then she would fight if or when it came down to it. She was not going to sit still if they came to her, she would rip them apart, show them what it was like to be helpless in the face of power and fury.

She took a while in the shower, trying to wash off the sick feeling that was creeping into her brain, warning her of impending doom.

She knew she was up early and had some time to think, but it was obvious to her she had her answer already. She was not going to send Harry to school today. Looking out her window she could see the dreary weather and sighed. It was almost like the dark clouds and cold rain were further reminders of what her instincts were telling her.

Harry did not take well to hearing he was missing school. "Mum, Rose Kyle and me were planning the best prank on our science teachers..I mean…uh…whaetever! Come on please Mum, I'll be safe. I can bring Rusty!"

Harry knew Lisa loved Rusty too, and for some reason trusted the loyal and smart dog. Lisa was having none of it though. Harry had rarely ever seen his Mum so firm and cold, completely unwilling to even speak of it anymore or consider compromise.

Suddenly Harry knew what was going on. His own instincts that had always been right and prophetic were suddenly 'enabled' and intense, spiking very strongly now that he saw his Mum's eyes clearly. She had woken his own instincts with that look, and he felt very similar to Lisa in terms of alertness and horrible feelings.

Except unlike Lisa, Harry's were not veered towards his own safety. He could not be sure but he was not entirely sure it was Lisa's either, or at least not strongly.

Harry's face fell and he nodded, hugged his Mum quickly, noticing her warm eyes light up at her son's thoughtful caring gesture.

"Harry sweetie, I know this will seem harsh, but do not tell anyone you are not really sick, even you're friends. For now we need to keep as careful as possible. Don't worry love, we'll be OK"

She smiled at him with all her love shining through her eyes, kissed him on top of his raven black mop of hair and laughed lightly at squirming. He smiled back and made his way to bed, his smile fading at the information he already had.

Harry sat on his bed staring blankly at a poster of a Quidditch poster his Mum got him. He quickly lost interest but knew his Mum wanted him to stay inside for now. He fell back in bed and quickly fell asleep. The tension was already making him exhausted, and when he woke up after a couple hours of sleep, he felt even more tired than before.

Harry pulled out his customized military grade cell phone that looked like phones would probably look like in a few years according to Lisa. Flat and thin, the screen was touch sensitive….Harry called Rose, listening with more and more worry as it rang. She usually answered almost instantly, ever since she gotten the cool futuristic phone she had fallen in love with it, calling it "Smiley" because she loved the emoticons that came on it, "and MOVED!".

When Rose did not answer he began to panic, after all the bad feelings and his Mum's worry was making him extra suspicious and jumpy.

He tried Kyle and was relieved when Kyle answered with an annoyed, "Yea?" and he heard Rose yelling in the background, "Tell Harry I lost my phone again! I'll text him when I find it"

Kyle repeated the message in monotone as if knowing Harry had already heard and annoyed at being the messenger as well as probably hearing Rose bothering him for a while now. Then his voice gained liveliness and he turned on video chat (an amazing feature Rose loved to gush about) and he said, "Hey Harry, are you really sick? Your Mum called mine and told her you're too sick to come to school today"

Harry felt really bad lying to his friend, but his Mum had seemed very serious, so he grunted in a none-committed confirmation. Kyle gave him a sharp look but nodded and sighed deeply, "  
Alright, see ya—" he stared hard into Harry's and in said, "feel better, let me know if I can do anything to help"

Harry smiled faintly and the conversation ended. Kyle's eyes seemed to burn themselves into his memory, and his bad feeling doubled in intensity. Something was not right, he could feel it.

About two hours later Alex called Harry, his voice sounded excited and he immediately blurted out, "Mate, we have three new Substitutes! All three teachers are the weirdest people ever, but they let us do whatever! You missed the best day ever! I'm telling you mate, you missed the best day and-." His voice was cut off by a scream, and suddenly the phone went dead on the other side.

Harry screamed at what he knew was happening. Lisa ran into the room, and she was throwing on her cloak with many glowing blue runes covering the material. She popped a black mask on her face, and she held a dagger in one hand, her wand in the other. Around her waist were two guns and a grenade, and Harry would have grinned at the image if he had not been so terrified and shocked.

"What happened?" she asked, looking around at the disturbance.

Harry was trembling and shaking, his words coming out in gibberish. Lisa ran over and pulled her son into a hug, holding him tight until he calmed. They had no time, so she lifted his face and looked into his eyes. She knew he would forgive her for reading his mind, especially if it saved his friends or whoever was in trouble.

What she saw was plenty of information, all the information she needed.

"Harry I'm going to go try and save them. You need to wait here. I'll be back soon you hear me? If I don't return-." Her face turned stern when he glared at her, but it dropped as she looked sad as she said, "Harry, I'm coming back. You know we can never be too sure though, so please just listen"

Harry nodded, and she smiled, "Good boy, there is a key under my bed in a safe. Put you're palm on the safe and you'll find everything you need"  
Harry nodded and she smiled, kissing his forehead and in a blur and a pop Lisa was gone.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Lisa could not apparate into the school, and it confirmed her suspicions. The ward went quite far and she had to run. Her training, cloak and some extra magic allowed her to run at 100 kilometers* and she finally leapt onto the school grounds. It was awfully quiet and she made her way through the large school, running through the hall ways. She was almost relieved when most of the school's children were in class, and it seemed to be going good.

That was until she reached the end of the last hallway and walked around the bend. Lying against the far wall was a scene that broke her heart right then and there. It was a scene so similar to what she experienced so many times, and the world seemed to stop as she stared.

Rose was pounding Kyle's chest, her eyes wild and terrified, her mouth foaming and her hands shaking wildly even as she pounded Kyle's unmoving form. She was obviously screaming and crying, but she made no noise, and Lisa realized it was a silencing charm. She flew to Rose, pulling her away from Kyle and hugging her tightly to her chest as she cast charms on Kyle. A flame rose in her chest and she wanted to roar, to scream, to destroy those who had done this to such young innocent people.

She looked around for Alex, and Rose looked up, her gentle childlike eyes returning for a moment and she pointed at a slightly open locker behind her. Lisa turned around and opened the locker. Alex was staring at her, his eyes blazing and held so much anger and hatred for a moment she was sure it was someone much older with a life full of horrors. When he saw Lisa and Rose in her arms, his eyes reflected relief. His body was broken, and he could barely move at all.

"Can't-movvve-my-boddyy" Alex slurred. His whole body was paralyzed except his head. Tears welled up in his tired eyes, and he asked the question that Lisa was not prepared to answer. "Kyle?" the simple words were filled with hope and dread, and all Lisa could do was shake her head. He had been hit by the killing curse, and the spell Alex was hit with was a dark cure she did not recognize. Her cloak allowed her to sense magic, magical signatures and often spells cast on someone.

She lifted her wand and whispered, "I need to move you. I'll make you go to sleep, you'll wake up and be safe" Alex nodded, and she quickly stunned him. Rose looked up at her from in her arms, and her eyes were so sad, so broken and shocked, Lisa nodded at the question in her eyes, and she stunned Rose to.

Lisa now had a choice that terrified her simply because she knew the consequences. She stared at the Egyptian Time Turner, a gift and held it tight as she thought. According to time rules established in three different Department's of Mysteries around the world, if you save something by going back, something equal or worse will happen because of it. So saving one person by going back in time could cause the saved person to die later, or others in that place and possibly even more deaths could follow.

Lisa lifted her head and screamed in agony as the pain and emotions of the current event as well as her own many tragedies overwhelmed her for a moment. She was breathing hard now but she gently picked up Rose in arm, and pulled out two pieces of parchment from her cloak pocket in the other.

She scribbled a note on one, tapped it as she mumbled "Portus". She walked over to Kyle, closed his eyes which she noticed looked peaceful. She folded the parchment and placed both his arms on top of it on his chest. The portkey activated and Kyle was sent to the Flamels. She highly doubted they would bring him back, but she was pretty sure that if they truly wanted, they could manage it. She hoped that by seeing him they would change their minds finally, but she also knew they would help her break the news to the family, they had money and resources to work it out. She was not sure she could do it herself even though she knew them.

With a quick spell shot at her cloak she got a report of the rest of the school. A faint trail of magic led out the school, which meant that the Death Eaters were gone, but had left the wards up to prevent anyone from catching up to fast.

Lisa was glad Portkey worked, and quickly created another one, placing a parchment in Alex's fist as well, and sending him off to Nicolas Flamel as well. Nicolas would not be a happy man soon enough if not already. One dead child, another Paralyzed by Dark magic. Secretly he and his wife would love it in a guilty way, not the deaths of course! But the fact that they had something to do.

"Now I need to track down the Death Eaters, and make them eat death. They will die…painfully!"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Harry sat on the edge of the bed, legs dangling off and swinging back and forth as he worried. Rusty sat nearby also looking subdued as if he knew exactly what was going on. He probably did.

His bad feelings had gone away just a moment ago, and he was not certain if that was a bad thing or a good thing. His Mum had been gone for over an hour, so it meant that his friends must have just been saved, and everything was good afterall.

Harry was jerked out of his thoughts by a crash downstairs. He raced down and found his Mum on a stool in the kitchen nursing a glass of alcohol. He saw three smashed glasses around her, and a bottle half empty of Firewhiskey. He could tell she was drunk, and he was annoyed that she had not announced that she was home. What was weirder still was that his Mum was drinking at all. Occasionally she drank, especially red wine, she claimed it was healthy, but never in large amounts, and always very light alcohol and usually not in front of him (he saw her rarely, but it was usually a glass of red wine, and she was never drunk from drinking).

Now though she seemed completely intoxicated, and Harry was not having any of it.

"Mum! What is going on? Why happened?"

Lisa's clouded eyes focused slowly on her son's, and slowly her eyes cleared, and she gave him the saddest look he had ever seen. He stared into her eyes, and due to her being so drunk, and Harry being so frantic and terrified, his mind entered hers in a perfect legilimency (despite Lisa being a great occlumency).

The images Harry saw were too much for him. He could not handle such tragedy, and the child in him refused to believe it. The warrior in him wanted revenge already, the gentle and sweet Harry Potter wanted to find a way to change everything, to comfort those who also lost Kyle…

In a burst of movement Lisa shot out of her seat and leaped a few feet towards the front door. Her magic was taking over and took away all of her drunkenness. She looked at Harry and said, "Do not even think of following me"

Harry could not explain how he already knew it, but he looked at his feet in guilt, already having subconsciously planned on doing so. He could not apparate, but he could use the Teleporter they had in the basement, or even the car which both had the ability to track a person and land next to them.

Harry ran to the basement the moment his Mum popped away and ran over to a large box the size of a bus. When Harry tried to enter and failed, he cursed at his Mum's preparations. She obviously locked it recently, because it had always been open. Harry had only once used it with his Mum, but he often went in to look at the amazing display of dials, screens and other muggle futuristic stuff.

Harry raced back upstairs and ran out to check the garage. The place was huge, with four cars (only one actually worked consistently, George had never finished the rest, and the current car never needed a replacement). The car was locked, and when he tried to use magic, his palm, finger and Eye scans to open it and they failed, he realized his Mum had known exactly what he was planning. She may have been drunk, but she had obviously been doing stuff before he got down and noticed her.

Harry sighed and leaned back against the car slowly drifting off. He was only asleep for a little while when he heard a scream. The scream came from Lisa he was sure of it, and he ran towards the source of the noise. Lying on the doorstep was his Mum, her body was convulsing and twitching but her eyes were freakishly calm and calculated when it met Harry's.

Harry ran over but one of her hands shot up to Harry's face, squeezing it gently as she looked him in the eyes. "Mummy was hit by a very horrible spell. I will fall asleep in a bit, but I will remain aware most of the time. When you see me, talk to me, I will listen and be there even if I can't show it"

Harry was startled at her calm and focused words. Her skin suddenly turned green for a few seconds, and when it went back her eyes began to fill with a dark color. She winked at him and she rasped, "Harry, you can do it and I'll be here waiting, listening and proud as ever"

A second later both her eyes were full, pure black and she collapsed in his arms, very still but breathing consistently.

* * *

**A/N:**

I apologize but this chapter is the only one coming out right now. I had to delete three chapters because of an epiphany (not killing 2 characters, saving something for later so its less confusing). I hope this was not too violent or sad. Let me know if you have any questions, comments or constructive criticism. Good day =]

*: About 62 Miles/hour.

**Interested?:** If you wish to, somewhere in this chapter there is a hint to something that happens later on. It has to do with timing and a feeling. This is NOT important yet, so no pressure!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Read author notes if you want to. Enjoy =]

* * *

Harry sat in a rocking chair by the fire in the home he had called his own for all the good years of his life. All the good memories, feelings and thoughts, events and pretty much any good in life came from this home. Memories flashed before his eyes, every spot, stain, object and area gave him fond memories of his friends, but strongest of Lisa.

The house was full of sweet moments that no longer made him smile. Now the thoughts and memories were like hot iron rods searing his heart, making his chest clench with pain, his eyes blur with unshed tears. He looked over to a scratch on the window high up the long pane that was now darkened with the reflection of the sky and the many raindrops rolling down its face.

Harry had only been home for a few months and he had not done any chores. He had eaten more sweets than he should have (not even all due to Lisa. Lisa's neighbors, his friends parents mostly had taken the young malnourished boy and treated him like family as well, candy seemed to be on the menu often).

Harry had been in shock more than anything else. He loved it there was no doubt about that, but he also felt a deep nagging inside that this was not going to last. Lisa could not truly want him, he was not worth anything. Lisa would soon be sick of him, and would return him to his previous location. The thought of what Uncle Vernon would do now was scary, and his young mind could not quite understand that he was truly never returning.

One day far too early on a bright Sunday, Lisa awoke to find Harry teetering on a stool high up the windows, scrubbing the windows clean. The windows were already sparkling, Lisa used magic to keep most surfaces constantly clean. Lisa was horrified, and when Harry saw her look, his strained but expectantly hopeful smile fell, and tears began to flow down his face.

Suddenly because of his stress the tall stool fell causing Harry to fly through the air. Lisa was a blur of speed as she ran forwards and caught him. She instantly brought him close, stroking his hair gently and cooing soothing words at the troubled child that she was already growing very attached to.

Harry's cries slowly faded and he began to awkwardly fidget in her embrace. He was not used to such close and comforting contact. She smiled and let him stand up before thinking quickly on how to deal with the problem.

She had no real experience, so she just went with what felt right. "Harry you are my son. You are never going to have to see the Dursleys again. They made you work and gave you very little, and that was wrong. At your age you should and will be having fun, learning and growing up. You don't need to clean or cook, work or complete hard jobs."

She felt like she probably would not win the parents speeches award, but her warm brown eyes and caring face told Harry all he needed to know. It would be a while before he learned, but it had clicked something in his brain. When the stool had tipped over Harry had grasped at air and had scraped the window with his fingers. Obviously some magic was involved because it had left a long thin scratch. Harry looked at it every once in a while, it was a reminder to him that he was in a good home, and it helped him appreciate what he had.

Back in the present Harry got up suddenly and forcefully. Striding all the way to the front door, he yanked it open and strode out into the heavy rain. Thunder pounded his ear drums while the bright flashes of lightning seemed to stoke the flames of anger and sorrow. The Doctors slowly and gently broke the news that she would never wake up. They told him there were possible studies and developments going on that could help, but there was not enough funding and it could take years to find a cure to the curse.

Harry fell onto his knees in the dark, looking up at the heavens. His vision was not great although much better than it could have been at ten years old had he been at the Dursleys. His glasses were broken, he had smashed them on accident, and his Mum had always asked him to get new ones anyways. She told him to keep those for the sake of memories and sentimental value. He had been in such a mood that he had barely glanced back at the shattered frames before leaving the hospital bathroom.

Tears flowed from his eyes as he stared upwards silently, the cold rain washing away the hot salty tears and cooling his turmoil. Suddenly he screamed to the heavens, his words unintelligible but the meaning was clear; a cry so pure and simple with no expectations or thoughts. He poured his pain and misery into the rainy night and he slowly grew tired and numb.

Unknown to him his cry was heard by three different sources. One would strive to help him upon hearing who had cried and why. The other would strive to help him for personal gain and limited caring. The third would strive to take the cry as weakness, and begin to accelerate plans.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Harry was not sure how he ended up inside and in his own bed. He got up stretched and yawned and took care of his hygiene slowly, like every step, every move took all the effort in the world.

Suddenly a memory came forth in his tired and defeated mind. Only last year at midnight on the day after his birthday. Harry was staring at the stars, spaced out and happy; satisfied from his long and joyful birthday. Lisa joined him on the roof to star gaze, and wrapped an arm around him and in a quite but serious voice she pointed skywards.

"You see those stars? Trillions and trillions of them and we can only see a tiny fraction of them. The world is like the stars. Each and every star is bright and mighty but some of the stars are closer to the focus. Some of the stars are bigger, brighter and we can see them with our eyes. You are going to be one of those stars Harry. You have a future that will one day seem impossible, but I believe you will go above and beyond everyone's expectations. If something should ever happen to me, you will fight on, you will carry on my beliefs, and you will remember. Remember this now, remember I believe in you, and I am not and will not be the only one"

Harry gasped as the memory flooded back clear as if it had just taken place. Obviously the memory had been there all along, but until now he only remembered her saying the first little parts about him being a bright star.

Harry's tired and broken face, a young face that did not belong with such depressing expressions slowly brightened and lit with a bright smile. All the times Lisa had smiled when he was happy, encouraged him when he fell, complimented him when he did well, and even frowned and rebuked him when he was wrong…

All the effort she out in to helping him read well, reading him all about the Wizarding world but also keeping it light and adding Muggle books to the mix. At the end of it all, he realized that she was preparing him. He had lots of love from her and his friends and even their parents. He knew a great deal of Magical and Muggle history, and he even knew how to fly a broom (though that seemed to be the only thing he excelled in the second he tried).

Harry ran to his Mum's room and found the safe. Inside the safe he found a suitcase, the kind that spies used in movies. Harry opened it and found two odd looking wands, a letter, a small handgun, a small pocket knife and the ugliest and weirdest pair of glasses he had ever seen.

Out of curiosity he picked up the huge thick glasses and put them on his face. Suddenly the glasses began to shrink and shift, fading from view. They fit very comfortably, and he when he grasped for them they felt very light. He also felt a dial on the side.

Harry pulled off the glasses and looked at the letter. It was pretty short and simple; obviously not intended as a last goodbye letter. Even though he could still see and talk to Lisa, he would have liked to read something for him from her again, but he quickly read the contents.

_The two wands are unfinished wands. They need cores and because they are raw, extra runes can be carved onto their handles. The small handgun is not the best fighting weapon, its meant for single shot attacks, or warning shots. The gun is not high caliber, but is infused with potions to knock out the enemy. It can kill at close range though. The pocket knife is a gift from a friend of ours. He is hiding away for now and recovering. It will unlock any locks, and I have added a spell so it can cut most materials as well. The glasses are very expensive but certainly worth it. They adjust to your physical needs, but can also detect magic, invisible objects and people whether by magic, potion or otherwise. It also detects poisons, voice signature echoes in the air, as well as record images and videos, and connect directly to your phone. I don't know how, but it can apparently be used as a pensive. In case you are wondering, I have no idea how to use it, I bought it for you but it can only be used by one person ever for privacy and security so I never tried it. There is a manual inside the envelope which can be read with the glasses"_

Harry sighed zipped up the suitcase and lifted his head high, the realization of what he must do hitting him hard. She would want him to continue training and learning, and he heard her speak of one place most often. A temple of some sort in Egypt, where she had learned the most, and that was where Harry was heading. He had an idea and he was almost certain Lisa had thought of this. Harry walked over to the awesome car that brought back memories of car trips during the summer, of drives to parks, or Lisa having one of her rare silly reckless moods and racing with a friend with Harry cackling and rolling on the car floor with laughter and exhilaration. The car was so safe, she rarely bugged him to put a seatbelt on, but she did keep a close eye on him, and kept the car on full defense inside and out when he was not wearing a seat belt.

Harry entered the car and spoke clearly and slowly "I would like to go to the Egyptian Training Temple"

Harry hoped that description would work, Lisa had used it a few times in her stories. As soon as he said "Egyptian Training" the car roared to life and in a very sickening jolt shot into the sky. Harry sat back in the comfortable seats and closed his eyes. His mind was barely built, his Occlumency was very weak but quite strong for any ten year old. He switched a few switches and pressed the silence button. Then he clicked the "Vacation" setting and the insides of the car looked like he was in the middle of a rain forest. The dash board was clear but looking like it was made from wood and stiff leaves.

The sounds and the soft breeze helped him calm and he centered himself, entering his mind. Inside his mind he found the usual look, space. Planets, stars, asteroids and strange bright lights that he could not explain. His Mum told him it was how he saw it, but that that to everyone else it was just darkness and memories flashing by. Even if they had an image for their own, only the person who owned the mind could see what he saw now.

Harry gently soared through the blackness lit by lights of small stars and explosions (feelings), asteroids, moons (simple thoughts, desires), planets (deep desires and long term and strong thoughts).

He had a core, four huge balls of fire circling each other. One was blue and strong, and he sensed it was his magic. The second was white but was so bright and so strong it seemed to give off pure love. He knew this was his emotions and love. *Then there was a small gold one that resembled a snitch. While he could not quite identify it, he sensed it had something to do with his skills, talents and abilities, as well as control. The last was much smaller and red with hints of black dots floating on top. He sensed evil, wickedness and pain radiating from it. Lisa told him to avoid it when he described it in great detail. She told him that when the time came, she would get an old friend from the temple to get rid of it.

That was another reason he needed to go to the temple. He needed that orb gone and from the little Lisa knew or at least explained to him, Voldemort himself was involved with it. She seemed to think it was Voldemort himself, but had quickly reassured Harry that even if Voldemort was involved, it was unlikely he was actually in Harry. However she did have an odd look on her face, disgust and horror mixed with a cold calculating look, the mind she got when she told him censored versions of her revenge and fighting.

* * *

**A/N:** If I did not say so already, **this story is not like my other one is style, word count and update speeds**. I made this for fun and I do not plan on having any pressure. If you expect many updates (more than 1 a week) wait till this is over. I hope I will have at least 3 a week, but do not expect more than 1.

I love reviews but if you are going to flame without constructive criticism, you're wasting your time. I broke up with my girlfriend, so please excuse my sharp tone. Next chapter should be longer.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N:** Chapter 5 fixed. Double check to make sure you read it and not the mistake copy of 3.

* * *

Golden beams of sunlight filtered through the dusty white shades, landing on a small figure in a clearly overused old bed. The rays were outlined by dust in the air and with the fresh air softly filtering through and the chirping of many birds it was quite a lovely and refreshing atmosphere.

Harry Potter woke up and stretched hard, yawning widely and looking around. He had rented a flat in the mountains very far from Egypt. He had actually arrived in Egypt but upon arrival someone ran up to his car and the car window had opened, obviously the AI in the car trusted this man. He wore a turban that usually would have meant he was Muslim and/or for culture reasons. This man was doing it mostly for hiding his face Harry, could just tell, and he also sensed he was a dangerous man. Even as he ran his movement were smooth and powerful, like a panther moving confidently toward the position of the unaware prey, right before he charged.

The man did not even turn his face but slipped him a piece of white paper. Unlike the obvious Muggle paper, the words were moving. Like a billboard words scrolled across giving the small sheet the ability to hold much more information than it would have been able otherwise.

"_It is not safe to enter from here. Please slide this into your car and wait at the hidden destination for more instructions_"

The rest was filled with runes, dozens and dozens of runes. Harry looked at it curiously, confused as at the instruction. He looked back but the figure was gone and Harry sighed with relief when a small slot glowed red on the dashboard. Harry patted the car gratefully and slipped the paper into the slot. With another loud roar he had been taken on a long and fast ride out of Egypt and to a mysterious mountain range where the temperatures were rather chilled.

Harry had spent a little while trying to make sure the bed had no bugs, and dusting off the bed. He had cursed his car, it had flown off the second he got out. He knew it would return and he swore it ate something, maybe went hunting and now that he thought about it, his mum never bought gas with the car. He imagined his car flying over a heard of sheep snatching one up. He had shivered at the disturbing thought and had soon turned in for the night.

It was strange how well he slept on such an uncomfortable bed. Unlike how it looked, he had felt like he was sleeping on a very comfortable bed. He got up expecting cramps from the bed that must have been more uncomfortable than he had felt due to being tired. He was pleasantly surprised that he felt fresh, alert and in very good spirits.

Even when he remembered Lisa he felt only numb, though when Kyle's face flashed through his mind, he did feel a little sick. "Kyle mate, I'm going to avenge you!" he said looking up into the rafters but thinking of heaven where he was sure Kyle was hanging out.

Harry sighed and shook his head to clear all negative thoughts that were now trying to latch on to the spark of anger he just had when he had thought of Kyle, Lisa, Alex who was paralyzed, poor Rose who was very badly traumatized. Instead he walked out of the hut into the bright sunshine and fresh air to a beautiful sight of mountains. As his breath came out in small puffs of steam (it was cold enough he reckoned) he realized he was not very high up, huge mountains towering above his ledge where the small hut stood, eerily close to the edge of a huge cliff going down to the base of the mountain, far enough down to guarantee death if someone fell.

Harry walked around the "base" for a while looking at the wilderness, watching a small group of dear pass by, then a huge bear, followed a couple hours later by two giant snakes. Harry watched the snakes cautiously. His Mum had discovered his ability to speak to snakes when she had been testing a theory about his scar. She told him to keep the talent hidden, and to avoid using it if at all possible, especially where he could be seen or watched. Harry slowly made his way back to the cottage, having a weird feeling in his gut. Those snakes did not radiate evil or danger per say, but they did have something off about them.

Harry opened the briefcase and pulled out the small pistol. Praying he would be able to shoot outside of a range and with limited practice, he crept back outside. The snakes were waiting for him in a none-aggressive stance. Harry was wearing the glasses that could see through disguises, so he was shocked when two heavily robed and covered figures morphed from the snakes.

One was clearly a woman and by the look of it Harry could tell she had a body that would make most men melt. It was not just the body, she seemed to hold a radiance of beauty and if he did not know better, he would have thought she was veela. His glasses would have warned him if she was due to the allure.

She pulled off two layers of robes before taking off a head covering and shaking her blood red hair free. She had plump red limps and golden cat eyes, high cheek bones on creamy skin. She smiled at him a clearly friendly gesture and he noticed her teeth were sharp like classic vampires.

The second figure pulled off the robes and Harry was totally unaware how to react. His Mum had mentioned quite frequently that Wizards and Witches, humans even were not alone on this world. That magical "creatures" were intelligent, powerful, and if given the chance could help improve everything. She had also mentioned that there were many beings that were unknown or hid their looks due to safety and the lack of free will and equality, especially from the magical governments.

Lisa told him about the temple in Egypt housing many of these kinds and that they were treated fairly, and were often leaders, teachers and held other important roles.

The second figure looked like a walking dinosaur in most ways. It was clearly a male, walked on two feet and wore very fancy dragon hide with gold trimming. He stood on two legs that finished into long wicked looking claws. His head was rather human looking but his whole body was covered in tough brown hide, and his cheeks were covered in small tough scales.

He was very tall and broad too, and his arms which looked a lot like huge burly human's arms ended in sharp claws that while they resembled humans hands, the ends of the fingers were thicker and the finger nails were natural blades.

When he spoke his voice was deep and seemed to command power. "I am Zargazia Veranz. You may call me Sir, King, or General. If you earn my respect, you will be allowed to call me Veranz. I am the leader of the three temples, King of my people and the general to the army that we are building"

A scoff on his side made him turn looking annoyed, and the woman smirked back, pulling off the last layer of out robes, revealing the same hide clothes as Veranz, but with silver trimming instead of gold. "I am Sophia. They call me Velvet, Pure Demon, and Miss Crazy depending on who you ask. Don't ask the regular guys, they tend to blabber on about my beauty which is no longer flattering. I do have a special allure, but some people need to get a sense of self control. Its not nearly as strong as Veelas after all. Sorry General for interrupting, but lying to him on the first meeting is not wise. We are currently trying to build a force, but it is far more complicated then we could ever have anticipated."

Harry noticed she did not call him Veranz but General, though he did sense that in most cases Veranz would have dealt with the speaker harshly or at least reacted stronger. Instead his eyes glared but he turned back to Harry.

"Yes, as my second in command put it, we are behind schedule and failing often, but we will get it done"

The massive leader looked around for a second and pulled out a pair of gloves that shimmered in and out of sight, resembling the invisibility cloak his Mum gave him. She had gotten it from Dumbledore early on after doing enough research on James and Lily Potter and friends.

Veranz slipped the gloves on and waved his clawed and now gloved hands. Three large chairs appeared next to each of them. They took seats and Sophia looked into Harry's eyes. The manual clearly said he was safe from Legilimency but he instantly felt her presence in his mind. He was unable to stop her feeling tiny and helpless against an ocean of power.

After a few moments she was out, and Harry was amazed he felt no pain. Lisa told him that if someone broke into his mind, especially if they rushed it would hurt and he would need to expel them right away. Clearly Sophia was a professional and she did it painlessly and much faster than he expected anyone to ever be able to do.

"I apologize for that Harry. I need to know that you are Harry Potter, that your intentions are right, and I need to know what's going on. We don't have time to talk and explain, so I hope you understand"

Her eyes reflected genuine pain from what she saw. "I was friends with Lily, Lisa and I met Kyle's dad. All good people hurt and killed because of the evil and dark in this world."

Her sad eyes turned blank and then brightened and she smiled a slightly strained smile. "Alright we must get to work"

Veranz looked at Harry as if considering something. He sighed and then he said, "There are very few people who excel at the mind arts like Sophia does. There is only two who could be a match for her, though I believe she is better. Severus Snape, a dog and a coward, and Voldemort. She will never divulge your secrets, and coming from a rather paranoid person, she will safeguard all she knows, and she can be trusted. She gets on my nerves constantly, we have very different ways of doing things, but at the end of the day she loved Lisa as a close sister and she will take care of you"

Harry nodded gratefully at the leaders words, and yelped when Sophia shot at him so fast it was literally a blur and grabbed him in a hug. After about half a second he felt a pull behind his navel and he was whisked away. Over her shoulder he noticed his car zooming to the ledge, and just before he was portkeyed away by a woman he hoped he could trust, his car made a whining noise that he was sure was annoyance at him leaving without the car.

'Is that wool on the car door and windshield?' was his last thoughts before he slammed onto very cold stone.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Nicolas Flamel was in a very tricky situation. Alex was almost fully healed already, and he had even helped Rose with some of the trauma. However Kyle was the tricky situation, and it killed him inside every time he was thinking he could not bring him back.

Was there a way to bring back the dead? Yes there was. What was the cost? Quite a bit. One method that was bordering on Necromancy but could bring back the soul as well unlike standard necromancy was to sacrifice ten lives for one soul. This would have to be done in battle and under the belief that the ten lives were evil, and that the life that returned was innocent and deserved to live.

It was very dangerous magic, and he did not have ten evil people to kill at one time. Alchemy was actually an possibility if he used the sorcerers stone and modified it, though that project would take time as well. For now he took some hairs from Kyle, returned the body and silently and hidden, watched the funeral from afar, taking note of the grief and terror on the parents face losing their only child at such a young age.

He was even more saddened because despite the multiple ways he could bring back the dead, something told him he would never do it, not out of will but he was certain this tragedy would remain that way if it was up to him and his methods. A tear rolled down his cheek at the thought.

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**A/N**: I know VERY short chapter. If you have read chapter 5 look at it again, you might have seen a copy of three accidentally. Thanks to those who pointed that out. I have another chapter under way, closer to 4k if all goes right.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: I apologize if I offended a place, people or culture. The places/environment I mention are from experience.

* * *

The next two weeks flashed by very quickly for Harry, though he learned quite a bit about the Temples and its people. When he had landed on the cold floors of the temple in Egypt he had been quickly relieved by the chill of the earth. The air itself was hot and humid and when he was led out of the dark chamber they had landed in , the temperature grew hotter and hotter.

The ground seemed to radiate a cool breeze upwards but the shock from the cold mountains to the humid hot desert temperatures was a shock. The smells were also very different changing from fresh and natural of the mountains, to odd smells mixed with unpleasant urine smells.

However he was not focused on the smells as much as the sights. When they had walked out of a pyramid he had been a bit shocked to say the least, but he had been even more surprised at how close they were to civilization. Nobody walking by seemed to notice a giant pyramid next to them, nor did they notice the small group coming out. The pyramid was much closer than any other one was.

Harry soon learned how big the inside really was. The entire pyramid was lit by modern lights as well as torches with purple flames. The inside smelled like flowers and pleasant perfume and the although many of the figures were wrapped in many layers of cloaks often with colored trim, they always nodded or waved at him when they passed, friendly and cheery even with an air of gloom from the deaths. They were covered mostly , some hiding their species, others their identity but almost all were friendly.

Harry noticed that at every doorway there was a guard with a staff, as well as occasional solders carrying huge guns and heavy armor walking around chatting like it was completely normal. The guards by the door would raise the staff, wave it over them and then signal them to move on.

Harry met many others who were training here, and for the first two weeks he was free to hang out, find his way around the huge place and get to know both the fellow trainees and teachers as well as the many solders and visitors.

Sophia visited him a few times a day asking him how things were, whether he needed anything and hanging out with him, trying to comfort him and gain comfort herself from speaking to the person Lisa loved like family. She also knew Lisa was alive and had already visited twice, and although she did not give up hope that she might return, she had very little of it and she felt almost worse knowing Lisa was alive yet likely never to move again.

Finally the three weeks of introduction were over and the training started. It was hard even after a year, and they did not lighten the work but made it harder and harder. Life was going to be hard for him, although he had fellow students as friends and he had some time to enjoy himself. In general though, the next three years would be one of the most rewarding experiences he would get.

He would study for three years under Sophia, three other trainers and Veranz himself. He learned a lot about magic and was quickly becoming quite the force. After every session he was sweating and panting, often covered in bruises and in pain, but with a wide grin on his face. Once those injuries would heal he was ready for more and he certainly earned all the strength he was gaining with pain, tears and tons of sweat and effort.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Harry had not visited Lisa for two years, his first visit tore him up. He did not visit again after that, not because he did not want to but because he knew he would break down and he would not want to leave. He sent her audio recordings and even spoke over the phone to her still form, letting her know how he was doing.

When he was called to the giant office that was occupied by Veranz he knew what was coming. He had been told three years for training and it had been more than three years now by a couple months. He knocked lightly after taking a gulp of air and entered.

He was only lightly surprised at the many figures sitting around a large table. They all looked up as he entered and he wordlessly took the only empty seat. He heard a chuckle at his bold action but he repressed a grin and running a hand through his messy black hair he announced, "I am leaving aren't I?"

One of the older men sitting to his far right snarled and growled out, "You watch your manners! You are speaking to ten people each much more powerful and important than you are!"

Harry scowled at the man and ignored him. The man a cruel teacher who no longer had any students because of his attitude and behavior. Harry had been the only one who had decided to get trained under him and after almost two years under this teacher, they both hated each other even more than at first. The man was incredible at making weapons, breaking weapons and dealing with many kinds of weapons, both to disarm and to wield and Harry needed to know those skills. The man not only never complimented Harry but he was unfair, giving him triple the work any of the teachers ever gave him. He cursed Harry, making him mad and calling him pathetic.

The problem was he was actually an incredible warrior, and his weapon making skills were unparalleled. When his behavior towards Harry was found out, Harry protected him from being fired and instead used the threat of being fired to keep the man in check. It only partly worked but Harry was satisfied enough. He had learned a lot despite the man being a real jerk.

"Yes you are done here. We have taught you all we can." Sophia sighed as she gazed at him warmly. Harry was now thirteen and the beauty that was Sophia was showing up strong on his radar. He had done a very good job of hiding his crush but she knew he had a crush. She rarely ever teased him about it though, knowing he needed to focus.

Now though she did wink and upped her allure a tiny drop while giving him a seductive look. He grinned as his cheeks pinked but instead of becoming a bumbling idiot like many guys especially his age he just blew it off, though he was affected more than he let on.

"You now have a choice. You can either go to Hogwarts or you can train for another two years. You can go to the other Temples, they offer very different training in general. Lisa trained in all three herself"

Harry knew he did not really have a choice. His heart told him to follow Lisa's footsteps and he wanted to learn more about her past. She was also a quite the force and he wanted to be strong like her. He was already decided deep inside.

Harry nodded and Sophia knew what he had chosen. She smiled at him and nodded back, "Say your goodbyes. You will leave in an hour"

Harry nodded and bowed to all those in the room, including the horrible teacher who was called, "Sir" and nothing more. After all he had taught Harry a lot, and although it had been in an unpleasant experience, at least he could teach and teach well to those who could stand him.

An hour and half later Harry was in a very terrifying situation. He was on very high pillar on a flat stone on top of a very high mountain, balancing very dangerously. One wrong tilt to either side and he was tumbling to his death. He groaned at what he now knew was waiting for him here at this Temple.

The second he had arrived in the mountains he knew it was going to make Egypt look like a piece of cake. Over fifty people stood at the foot of the mountain and on brooms watching his effort to stay on the stone with glee. This was a test to them, to see what he was capable of, would he pass or would he beg them to let him down.

The people in this area were all hard warriors. The men, woman and even the teens a little older than him were tough as nails and they would not be easy on him. He needed to finish this test properly, but it was not looking easy.

His task? Jump to a ledge on the other side of the cliff. An impossible jump but with magic he could succeed if he was carefully and planned it out properly.

He looked at his wand in his right hand and took a deep breath. He had two wands that were made by Sophia and a private wand maker, taken from the shells Lisa had left him. One was for delicate complex work and the one Harry was holding was for powerful magic that relied more on strength than finesse. They both worked fine for each, but were specialized even more for those kinds of work.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hermione stirred her food with her fork, poking at it with disgust. Her mind was full of the events that made her life suck sometimes. She looked up and glared at Ronald Weasley who was looking at her with a blank gaze.

He was not really that much of a problem. He was immature and annoying but he mostly left her alone unless she did something that bothered his sense of right and wrong, which was very limited.

Her problem was the new student who had come at the beginning of the year. Her first year had been lonely at first sure, but at the end she had become close to Neville and a few of the other year girls when she had been pressured to play a game in the dorm. What ever came out of it the game, whatever was said and done, most of the girls looked at her in a new light, a mix of respect and surprise. It seemed most people thought all she cared about were books and bossing people around. When given the chance she was quite the interesting person.

She also began helping people with their homework which gained her popularity. Soon she had many friendly acquaintances as well as a fair share of friends. Until this year when a transfer student from Durmstrang joined her year, Todd Gaunt.

For some unknown reason people loved him and listened to his every word. He had very dark hair which he combed far too much for a guy, his skin was freakishly pale and his eyes glittered with danger. They were so black and cold and when he smirked she swore she saw far too many sharp teeth.

He hated her the second he lay eyes on her. It was four months now and she no longer did almost anyone's homework. They either no longer wanted it, or they were treating her wrong and she was not going to take that from anyone. Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley, and a select others remained nice to her and stayed her friends.

Now Todd was trashing the ones who were still her friends. Neville was being bullied and Luna was being bothered far worse. Ginny was instead getting in trouble for hexing the living hell out of anyone who looked at her or any of her other friends wrong. She caused seven students to go to the Hospital wing two six years who were student and immature enough to get involved. Her tempter upped her strength from above average to crazy and powerful.

Strangely Dumbledore not only never punished her heavily, when she was in detention with him, he taught her spells and ways to prank the bullies without getting caught or hurting them too much. Dumbledore seemed very suspicious of Todd Gaunt for some reason, his name alone seemed to raise alarms in his blue eyes.

Hermione was fed up and she was trying to think of a plan. She could not keep this up for the next five years of Hogwarts. Suddenly she had an idea upon seeing a small platter with a funny looking piece of fish on it. Only Hermione would see a fish and think of her idea but she was sure it would work and could solve other problems.

Todd Gaunt watched from down the table as the mudblood looked down and upset. He savored her pain and hopelessness until he saw a glint of victory in them. What was she planning?

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Curled up in an ally a small figure was shaking from the cold. It was dark and quite, past midnight and nobody was around or making any noise. She looked miserable and hungry and to the man walking slowly down the Muggle road she seemed like the perfect target to torture. He apparated away calling on some of his 'friends'. They would enjoy this as much as him and he longed to hear the screams of pain he would unleash on Muggles.

When he appeared the girl was gone and he whipped out his wand, his four friends doing the same as they raced down the alley way looking for their easy target.

Finally they found more than they were looking for and the leader smiled a sadistic grin.

Three young girls and a young boy huddled against the wall in fear, looking up at the leering faces with dread. The leader stepped forward slowly, relishing the fear he caused in the simple movement.

"Stupid Muggles. We are going to have fun with you, torture you for being alive"

Before he could continue he heard a thump and when he looked back he was shocked to find his fellow attacker headless and collapsing onto the ground. One of his men was missing, while the other two were looking around confused.

There was a glint and a sound of metal on flesh and the leader looked around in confusion. Suddenly his two 'friends' met the same fate as the first headless member. The missing member suddenly appeared dead and lifeless at his feet.

The leader was very lucky that night. He activated his Portkey and survived missing two fingers as he disappeared. The fingers fell to the ground and the last image Lucius Malfoy saw was a young face that resembled James Potter but with green eyes like Lily Potter. He had the scar and a very strange lethal look in his eyes.

The children looked up at the boy who held a sword covered in blood. His green eyes look at them kindly and he crouched next to them. "Its going to be OK"

They nodded and suddenly Harry was shocked to see the children pointing to his scar and looking at him with wide gleeful looks. "You're Harry Potter aren't you?" said one girl. Their voices grew louder and more excited and for the first time since he knew of his fame he honestly felt good for having it. These kids had seen horrifying sights and they were only about seven or eight years old. If his fame gave them temporary relief and helped them deal with it, he loved that aspect.

"Yes I am Harry Potter. Are you magical?" The children all nodded wide eyed. "So where is your parents? Where do you live?"

Their eyes dimmed and the first girl looked up at him with wide eyes filled with tears. "That man killed them two weeks ago and burned down the house. They all said it was a random fire but we saw it. We ran because we were scared they would go after us too. Our Mum was a witch but she gave up most of it to marry our dad. They were defenseless and our Mum helped us run but ran back in to get our dad…"

Harry may have seemed calm on the outside, but on the inside he was furious. The Death Eaters (he was sure they were) had probably not realized the kids were the ones who had disappeared, but it did not matter. He would need to keep these children safe and the only place he could do that was back at home in the training Temple in the mountains.

"Alright I have somewhere you can go. You'll be safe and I'll make sure you are taken care of"

The children nodded eagerly, both because it was Harry Potter, and because they liked the sound of safety and care, which probably meant food too!

Harry was happy he had been so lucky, and he was sure the people would accept the orphans. He had been sent on a mission to track a Death Eater, to avoid confrontation if possible. He knew this was a good cause, and after nearly half of year of proving his worth and gaining their respect, the Temple's people would agree if he thought it was smart.

Harry smiled at the bright faces a few hours later. They had eaten a huge amount for such small children, and he had somehow been talked into telling them an exciting story. He told them one his Mum told him many years ago (to Harry it now felt like lifetimes away).

_"Once upon a time there was an angry warrior. The warrior was not pleased with the direction the kingdom was going and he decided to…"_

The story highlighted how one warrior fights for what he believes in and how he thinks he is doing good but he is really not. Just like it applies to an old fool back at Hogwarts , "The road to hell is paved by good intentions" It encouraged thinking before acting, and asking the advice of others. It also highlighted how important unity and trust is.

He watched as one after the other fell asleep and he smiled at the obvious relief written on their faces even as they fell asleep. The youngest girl opened her eyes when he stood up to leave and in a terrified voice she whispered, "Please don't go. Don't leave us we don't want to be alone and cold and scared and hungry and—" she ranted still in a whisper her eyes wide and tears slipping down her face.

"Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You are safe, your all safe"

He sat back down in his chair in front of the five beds and slowly dozed off himself. He had a crazy day and he needed rest badly enough that he was quickly asleep.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

**Harry Potter Lives Again?**

**By: Rita Skeeter**

The details of the night that Harry Potter killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named are not very clear, but we know he survived. Sightings of the boy were limited but consistent until he would have turned five. After that there were multiple sightings in a different area entirely but it was rumored he may have died only a few years ago. The house he supposedly lived in burned down, and not a trace of Harry Potter had been seen since, leading many to believe that Harry Potter was killed in the fire. This was confirmed by his absence at Hogwarts.

Just recently this reporter spoke to an eyewitness who saw Harry Potter killing Muggle attackers with a sword. It may sound crazy but after a dose of a special homemade potion it was confirmed. Harry Potter is back and he is fighting evil at a tender age. Is he now evil himself though, getting rid of competition? Is there a reason for a sword instead of a wand? After all he can get one at his age even without Hogwarts if he talks to the Ministry and gets an exception. This reporter is suspicious and you ought to be too.

Harry Potter - page 2

The Night of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's Demise- Page 3

Rita's Eyewitness Interview- Page 3 back and page 4

Harry smirked at the article as he plopped down at the table, grabbing a plate of eggs. He passed the article to a friend named Tommy who laughed as well after reading it. Rita was a crazy lady, and she better watch what she wrote in that article. However, it was mostly funny so Harry shrugged and looked down the table and the new members of the Temple.

The four kids were laughing and throwing food, while stuffing quite a bit in their mouths in a way that any good parent would scold. Harry did not have the heart to even try rebuking them. They were finally safe, had plenty to eat and were laughing. Their joy seemed to spread to everyone around, and although it was business as usual training till he fell apart, it was done with a lot more cheer and energy than usual. The children's presence cheered everyone up, giving them a sense of the world outside their Temple for once. The woman dropped their warrior selves for a bit when they passed, talking and hanging out with the children.

Harry smiled, 'its gonna be a good day'

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**A/N:** If you want to say "Not your best" don't, I am aware. I hope you enjoy another quick update =]

**Hint:** Todd Gaunt is NOT Voldemort. Duh :D


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Hogwarts is coming up very soon. I will add in some brief flashbacks of some key points in training during Hogwarts so no worries.

* * *

Harry sighed deeply as he stared up at the clear night sky. The stars twinkled gently back at him and he felt at peace for the first time since Lisa had been well and his friends had been together, healthy and alive. A soft breeze ruffled his messy hair and cooled his spirit.

Harry was nearly finished his training in the mountains and after a year of extreme physical excursion, martial arts and learning stealth, control and "The Magic Of Nature" as it was called in a native language by three natives he felt ready. Ready to either go to Hogwarts or figure out a few things, maybe travel to the third temple.

The magic of nature was the art and skill of stealth, illusions and masking of intentions and weaknesses. It was difficult to learn and master, and was so complex and wide in use that the teachers themselves were still learning after many years. Harry loved it though and soaked up all he could learn with an eager energy.

The spell Harry used best from it pushed magic out of the pores of the skin which gave the person a very faint aura. Once the magic was out, it could mold into spells themselves and gain properties. If done right one could make it so the enemy saw a huge towering of a man in place of a normal person. It could play with any emotions and thoughts a person had about the caster as well, and could give a seemingly basic person a powerful image to those who saw it.

It also used wandless magic which Harry was becoming increasingly good at. He was unable to perform spells without a wand since the focus was too limited, but he could create balls of fire, summon and banish objects, and shoot energy waves. It tired him though and was more of a last resort for the moment.

Harry smiled when he heard the soft footsteps of the four children the Temple had adopted. They were obviously trying to sneak out of their large room because a guard had dared them too. The guards were tough men that rarely smiled or had any sort of recognizable emotions. They were trained since birth to be guards of the temples, and although they had loving parents and a childhood until the age of 14, their mentality and life's goal made them seem hard and had alone.

However when the children came the guards and almost everyone there lit up, the children's laughter and energy spread smiles to the stiffest of faces. They were leaving tomorrow, and he really wished the guards would have refrained from daring the children to sneak up on them again. The guards would tease them "If you can tap any of us on the shoulder we'll give you our dessert in the evening meal"

Of course the guards always caught them but played along for a bit. Harry was amused but they really needed their rest tonight, and although it was only 10pm, they would need rest for the journey on foot. Due to security reasons all movement in and out of the Temple had to be done on foot. It was three hours to the bottom, and then another two hours out of the wards before any magic could be used.

The children were moving to a more permanent home that Dumbledore and the Flamels had arranged. Dumbledore had been monitored very carefully and was only in charge of helping with the wards and arranging things with the use of his political and influential power.

Harry sat up with a start when a familiar bad feeling crawled in his gut. He leapt to his feet power wand in one hand, a blade now in the other. He pulled his invisibility cloak over his head quickly and darted towards the front gates where the bad feeling seemed to be resonating from. As he aged the feeling he had when something bad was going to happen had become stronger and more detailed.

He got the feeling for anything that caused him or anyone around him abnormal pain in a physical way, and the more he cared for someone the more any mental pain also activated his feelings. He knew it had something to do with his instincts, but he felt there was more to it. One thing he did notice was its absence for Muggles. When Muggles got hurt he rarely felt it unless he cared for them in some way. Unless they had magic though he was unable to detect their physical pain either. It was annoying to Harry but he learned to tune it out unless it was bad. Since he could detect when he was going to be in pain he was able to often limit or prevent small pains like a boiling mug from spilling on his hand, or a dagger from slashing his cheek in training.

Now though Harry felt a very strong burst of physically and mental pain that would be experienced by all four children and others. He also felt death and he was certain it was the six guards on duty. Harry raced to the entrance and noticed all four children laughing as the two guards who protected the entrances made clown faces and jumped up and down in a manner that would have shocked anyone had they heard about it a few months before.

Harry did not sigh in relief or relax because he still sensed the feeling of Death and now sensed physically pain on himself. This happened often, he would prepare for the feelings and it would morph and change, often for the better but not always.

Suddenly an alarm screamed through the air. It signaled intruders, and Harry grabbed the four kids and ran with them deeper into the temple grounds. As he turned back to look at the remaining guards a flash of at least ten Killing Curses smashed into the guards, killing them instantly.

"Speak the words" he whispered calmly and firmly to the children. The oldest sister put on a brave face and nodded to her younger siblings. They grasped something around their necks and whispered words very faintly so that Harry could not hear. The girls blushed when one of the boys said "Potter" a little too loud. The passwords enabled the portkey's as long as they were firmly grasping the necklace around their necks. There had been more than a few accidental trips to the underground shelter, especially from the two girls who would not meet his eye for a few hours afterwards for some odd reason.

Harry barely had time to relax as they disappeared, because there in front of him were fourteen Death Eaters. These ones had two things that marked them different from what Harry Potter was used to and had learned about. The first strange difference was their movements and style. They did not attack and cause terror blindly and barely coordinated. The second was their white bone masks which had a small gold serpent etched on the mask's forehead.

Harry could not place it in that moment, but the serpent was awfully familiar. He had seen that symbol somewhere. He pushed the thought aside for the moment and backed away slowly, keeping an easy dodging distance between him and the cautiously approaching Death Eaters.

Harry whispered an area scanning spell and a wave of anger poured into him at what he found. All the guards were dead at their posts, and Harry was also now much more alert and cautious from his findings. These guards were trained like Aurors with magic, and had very good senses and skills which allowed them to detect enemies from far away and very quickly.

'This is an inside job' Harry realized with a start. There was no way these guards were all caught off guard at the same time. The wards also should have alerted them to strangers presence, and only a fellow guard could possibly change the settings to allow outsiders to be considered friendly and thus bypass the detections and warnings.

If there was an insider Harry needed to do three things. First he needed to contact Sophia and the other Temple's leader Zero and warn them of the Temple's attack. Then he needed to get the children and prepare to leave right away. The last thing he needed to do was shut down the area completely and let loose the true protections of this temple.

Harry waved his wand and a Patronus popped out. This one was not made of happy memories like a standard one, but instead from will power. It could not do anything except send messages, but it traveled at incredible speeds and would alert Sophia and Zero within the next two minutes.

"The temple is under attack. We lost the guards but I don't think there are any other casualties. I am putting the temple on lock down and releasing the giant bears. Please send for backup, I won't be here when you arrive"

Unlike his normal Patronus which was a stag and fueled by memories of an amazing childhood, his "Messenger Patronus" as he called it could take on any shape he wanted it too. This enabled him to have a double message or extra emphasis in messages. A feline of any kind meant that it was a secret of some sort or that the message needed to be carried out with stealth. Any animal that flew meant that it was urgent and a speedy response was needed. The large dragon now taking off into the sky was a message that spoke of extreme importance and priority.

Harry only hoped he could protect everyone left with his next move. Harry twirled both wands and in a downwards thrust he yelled "Protectors of the Temple rise now to protect!"

There was an immediate response as the ground shook and massive bears melted out of the ground all around the Temple, over fifty bears each at least double the size of a grizzly bear. Their eyes shone with intelligence and they stood snarling and looking around with huge jaws open showing massive teeth. The Death Eaters stood unfazed and clearly thought that since the wards had let them through as friendly, the bears would do the same.

However the bears were intelligent and one bear approached Harry. Even though Harry had seen the bears before, this bear always made Harry feel a prick of fear. It towered above the other bears and its intelligent eyes held a deep wisdom that almost seemed to contrast its massive jaws and huge glistening teeth.

"Those men attacked the Temple. They killed the guards, they killed Joshua" Joshua was one of the guards in charge of making sure the bears were well taken care of. He was also one of the only people who spent free time with the intelligent bears, having a love for them because they had saved him and his daughter in the past.

The head bear roared and the fourteen Death Eaters realized suddenly how wrong they were. Harry meanwhile sped to a small hut and ran inside. He waved his wand and a hidden trap door swung open. Harry jumped through into a brightly lit dungeon, but instead of dreary stone walls and floors, a silky carpet and warm blue colored walls made a better image for a hideout.

The hideout was vast, a natural cave that could easily hold a couple hundred people comfortably. However despite that it was quite full with not only all the remaining Temple members but also with two nearby small villages that thrived on the Temple, trading and selling, gaining protection and friendships.

"Alright everyone, stay down here. The bears will let you know when its safe. Backup should be here in a moment. The Temple is going on Lockdown, so please do not cast any spells if you can avoid it"

Lockdown was a meant powerful ward that targeted anyone who was a threat to the people of Temple. Because of its nature, any powerful spells or spells that were often used to fight or battle could trigger the ward, so even an innocent could be in danger if the magic was used too often.

The people looked at Harry like he was their leader in that moment, his calm head and powerful commanding voice seemed to draw their gazes and obedience. He had earned their respect and he seemed to have a natural leadership control in times of panic and crisis.

Harry smiled at the children and they each grabbed a hand onto one of his arms. The people's eyes now held more confidence despite Harry's leaving. So much anger consumed Harry's insides that he had to breath hard and focus intently to keep it from boiling over. His chest rose and fell and his heart beat loudly and firmly like a drum beat, even thudding in his vision and his head pounded from the adrenaline flowing strongly through his body. 'I have to stay calm and in control' he repeated in his mind over and over.

As soon as he landed in the familiar Temple he had only visited briefly, he watched the children quickly being taken in and cared for by many Healers and civilians as a large group of warriors approached Harry. The third Temple was by far the biggest and most secretive, as well as most powerful. It held a huge population that rarely interacted with the outside world. The Temple was only accessible with magic because it was hidden at the bottom of an ocean, in a location unknown to anyone anymore.

The Temple itself was a small powerfully made bubble of Dragon claws mixed with a few other metals and magic. The inside was much larger housing the largest population of any intelligent magical beings in the world. They received the stress call and the warriors responded immediately to aid their fellow brothers and sister in the Temple in the mountains. They wore massive green armor that seemed to be made of coral and seaweed stuck on here and there, but was actually quite impressive and resistant like a giants hide.

Harry explained what had happened quickly and the Warriors were soon apparating off to help. Harry's anger and hatred of Death Eaters gurgled up to the surface as his duties were completed. Had he seen his eyes he would have noticed the tiniest glint of red in the bright green, a contrasts that would not be missed if the leader of the temple saw it.

The leader did see it when he stepped forward out of the metal walls. "Harry Potter"

Harry nodded and clenched his fists to stop the shake that was coursing through his young body from his anger and urge to act. The leader was a very tall and thin man with ghostly white skin and a bald head that was heavily tattooed with runes. He had sharks teeth; three rows of razor sharp 'blades' lining his mouth. His eyes were very dilated and had a small pale blue ring that seemed to catch the attention of anyone who looked at his eyes, a freezing glint that caused his enemy to tense up and stop.

"Zero" Harry acknowledged the leader and met his eyes. The leader's thin brows rose when he met Harry's, and his eyes quickly traveled to his lightning bolt scar. Harry was slightly disturbed by the attention he was giving the scar. Harry knew by now the scar was a curse scar, and that it probably held a Horcrux in it but there was no way to get rid of it. Killing Harry could work, but also had a large chance of killing him along with the soul fragment. Sophia had figured out exactly what it was, but even she had been at a loss how to get rid of it. The flamels were also not sure how to extract it without killing Harry.

Zero knew all this and last time he had only briefly focused on the scar. Now though his eyes flicked back and forth from Harry's eyes to his scar. For the first time Harry suddenly felt very scared of Zero. He was smiling a very wide and eerie smile and his teeth were glinting, jaw slightly opened but tense.

"Harrryyy you sssem to havvve a problem" he was hissing it out in a rough tone but soft whispery voice. His tongue swiped over the first row teeth; long and thinned out at the end to make a sharp point. Harry was shocked at the change from smooth speech to his hissing dangerous voice.

Suddenly Harry felt something smash into the back of his head and he saw fireworks. His dazed mind slowly welcomed the blackness as he fell. The last thing he heard before his eyes closed was a somewhat familiar voice saying, "We need to get rid of the scar Harry. Its taking over because of your intense anger and thoughts that are so familiar to it—garbled babbled…." The rest was not understood to the sleeping boy.

Later he would realize that they had to knock him out with physical force because he was already so magically tense that stunning him may not have even worked, or could have backfired or turned up the flames of emotions.

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**A/N**: More coming. I know I promised bigger but oh well. I have another chapter almost done so maybe Saturday night I'll put it out.

Questions? Concerns? Comments? Let me know if you want.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter

A/N: I am time skipping here. No worries, all important happenings in between will be known either in Flashbacks or conversations. Also I am not a mean author even in this story, so just be patient with this chapter.

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Hermione sat in a compartment alone her face pressed to the window, looking out without seeing. For the first time since she began Hogwarts she was not only alone for the ride to Hogwarts but she was also not doing anything. No going over her books, or thinking of a research project or even just thinking random teenage thoughts.

Now she was clouding her mind with blank thoughts, using an unconscious Occlumency to block the painful thoughts and feelings fighting to overwhelm her. Even with her face pressed to the glass she felt hot tears fall from her cheeks and the thoughts that she fought so hard to block came forward.

It had all gone so well at first. They had laid a perfect trap on Todd Gaunt, Professor Mcgonagall had seen him bully a second year and he been in detention for months from her fury. However he did not seem to care much and instead, he raised the bar himself. Hermione found herself being attacked 'hit and run' style and she had been hit by some rather nasty curses.

At first Ginny Weasley had become so terrifying to the attackers that when she or Neville Longbottom were around, the attackers backed away. It was not that Hermione lacked the strength or magic to do the same as Ginny, but she was always hesitating. That was the difference between her and the attackers, she wanted so desperately to avoid hurting a fellow student. On top of that she sensed that Todd Gaunt was threatening them to do it, and she was scared to find out how.

Neville had completely sprouted from his shell in a single day. Someone had fired a lethal curse at Ginny and Hermione as they exited a class. The curse was a powerful exploding curse and was the first of its kind to be fired from the bullies. Although it had been block by three shields, from Parvati, Ginny and Hermione, Neville had seen red and with a cry of outrage he had pulled out his wand and cast a spell. Nobody knew what the spell was, it looked like a huge ball of blue fire but it melted the statue it hit and instead of fizzing out it rolled across the floor at high speed towards where the student who had attacked was hidden.

Unfortunately the student was gone, but the spell left a huge crater trail up to the spot where the student had been hiding from the immediate response. Neville had looked down at his wand, smoking and half burnt with a sad frown.

Neville did considerable better after that, both in his confidence and in class. Snape had quite a shock when Neville smirked back at Snape one day when he made fun of his parents in his sarcastic nasal voice. Neville was changed from that moment, and when he got a new wand his magic improved by leaps and bounds. It was like the magic he had used had opened a locked part of himself and let out the real Neville.

However the bullying began to increase in intensity and no matter how hard Hermione and the others tried to prank the bullies, the only clear bully was Todd Gaunt, and he seemed to know where every trap or prank was before it happened.

However the longer it continued the more desperate the teens got. Until Luna joined in more frequently, and that scared most of the bullies for over a month. Her dreamy nature and mostly senseless words were little warning for her insane power and lack of restraint. Someone hit Ginny with a spell that caused her face to erupt in pink mushrooms, and Luna spun around and shot a simple banishing spell towards the area where the bullies (always hidden by a shroud and powerful Notice-me-nots that were very advanced spells). Four students were lifted into the air and flew several feet before crashing to the ground.

Hermione ran over to the group but Todd Gaunt appeared next to them and smirked at her. "Are you attacking students mudblood? I could report this you know"

Hermione was unable to identify the students and it frustrated her greatly. What she did know was that Todd Gaunt was behind it all.

At the end of the year everything came crashing down for everyone. Cedric Diggory had been taken somewhere at the end of the Triwizard tournament, and he was quickly questioned under veritisirum by Dumbledore when he arrived battered to the say the least. However Nicolas and Pamela Flamel had been attending the tasks. Something was stirring and they had felt that it was in their best interests to be around once more. They had also sensed something wrong going on, and when the poor boy had come back bleeding and severely traumatized, they had instantly known what was happening.

Everyone by now knew who he and his wife were. When they reached him and gently interrogated him while using Legilimency to keep him calm and make his answers easier on him they found out that Voldemort was alive. It was lucky they were there, or nobody would have believed it and the minister probably would have covered it up.

They found out that Voldemort had meant to kill Cedric after a gruesome ritual but that over a dozen cloaked figures had shown up and battled the Death Eaters and Voldemort. One figure had approached him from behind and had activated a Portkey, bringing him back.

However it seemed that the Ministry was not so quick to give in to Voldemort's true return. They claimed he was weak and practically dead, and that he was no threat to anyone.

Around that time though the bullies had become worse, and three events tore her heart apart and seemed to carry over to this year so far.

It had been a quiet weekend and Hermione had been laughing and giggling like a normal teenage girl with her dorm mates in the corner of common room. She was so glad she had been able to get close to them, because despite their immaturity and limited topics, they were a very pleasant break from the craziness of classes and the constant attacks, and they supported her in their own silly ways.

Neville Longbottom approached her, his eyes downcast and his feet shuffling like he was not happy he was about to do what he was planning. An old awkward spark seemed to grab hold of him and he went up to Hermione.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" he asked with a low voice that cracked slightly as he spoke.

Hermione nodded, nervous energy flooded into her. His tone suggested sadness and his general look told her he was telling her bad news of some sort.

"I cannot be your friend anymore. Its too dangerous"

His simple words sliced through her heart like daggers and tears instantly welled up in her eyes. Neville suddenly darted up to his dorm room, his breathing rough and his eyes still downcast from what he had done.

Only three days later Ginny Weasley approached her. She seemed angry all day and finally before bed she approached and angrily told her "I cannot be your friend anymore. It's too dangerous"

Hermione tried to meet her gaze but Ginny was staring at her feet, and Hermione swore she saw tears falling to the ground. Her fists were clenched so tight Hermione was sure her fingers were causing her palm to bleed.

Luna did not say anything and stayed by her side, but she seemed to be incredibly distracted like there were bugs flying around her face far more often than before. By the end of the year she was pretty much alone, and she even sat alone as she watched the Triwizard tournament. She had gone to the ball with Krum but even he seemed to be weary around her.

As she sat in the compartment now, she did not look forward to fifth year. Unlike the other years where she had friends, she sat alone and saddened.

Had Hermione let go of her emotions and pain, her brilliant mind would have noticed that not only was her friend's behavior completely unlike them, but that they had said the same words, they had both refused to meet her gaze, and she would have seen that even Luna's behavior was too odd. She would have noticed the light milky gaze deep in their eyes even from across the table or the common room, and would have noticed that Todd Gaunt spoke to Ginny and Neville far too often.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Harry sighed as he boarded the Hogwarts train. He yawned as he walked from compartment to compartment looking for an empty one. He found one finally near the end and walked in, closing the door behind him and settling down after putting up some light wards.

He was alone in his compartment for about a minute when the door slid open and three people stood by the door peering in. Harry had seen the registry with the pictures to match and knew the names and faces of everyone there. However he knew nearly nothing about them so he was not going to jump to conclusions. It was illegal but Sophia had given him a copy anyways, telling him he had more than just school to worry about and he needed to be as prepared as possible.

Neville Longbottom stood slouched next to a red head girl Ginevra Weasley, and in the center, the biggest mystery of all the students and the one Dumbledore himself had warned him about when he had spoken to him about joining Hogwarts; Todd Gaunt.

Harry was not drawn to his cold black eyes for long, but instead focused on the two figures on either sides of him. They were standing far too still, and their eyes held signs of the Imperius curse. They were also very unlikely companions to Todd Gaunt if anything he heard about him was true.

Harry looked out towards the window thinking fast. If he tried to break the spells now, he would find out exactly what Todd Gaunt was capable of, and he would probably have to fight as well. However he could not leave it as it was, so he decided to make a move when he saw an opening.

"Hello there, I am Todd Gaunt, may I sit in this compartment?" Todd Gaunt's voice was smooth and silky, and his polite attitude would have fooled anyone who was not already very suspicious. "Go ahead" he answered, not revealing his identity. Harry had a very powerful concealing charm on his scar, a scar that now held nothing more than permanent magical scar tissue. The scar tissue was nearly impossible to get rid of, especially since it was there for so long and grew back like a cancer. He did not mind though, he would be using his fame to accomplish what needed to be done.

Todd stepped forward, the other two following him like obedient puppets. Harry realized that Todd did not care if anyone realized they were under a spell. He probably had a different magical signature in the spell, also a very difficult spell to cast, and he surely had a backup story to deny knowing there was a spell. Even if he would be suspected, no proof was no proof.

This guy was powerful and Harry sensed it when he focused, he had a very large raw magic reserve, and when Harry looked into his eyes and saw the way he fingered his wand lying on his lap, this guy also had skill and experience on his side.

Harry doubted he was match for himself, but at close quarters it only took one hit and he was a goner. Harry was not prepared to fight him yet, he needed to know more. Harry saw an opportunity when Draco Malfoy opened the compartment door. Harry had never seen him but had heard a lot about him from Dumbledore, who seemed to think he was not all bad and had good in him.

The boy had two large goons behind him but Harry was already making his move. Pulling out both wands in a blur he threw a stunner and a body bind at Todd Gaunt who dodged the stunner with incredible reflexes but fell to the body bind.

Draco opened his mouth in shock but was hit by another stunner from Harry. He crumpled to the ground, the two goons staring blankly at his falling form, unaware that they should probably catch him. Harry smirked and focused his attention the Todd. This was going to be tricky, and Harry could not afford to make any mistakes.

First he stared into the eyes of Neville Longbottom, and entered his mind. He soon found Neville Longbottom standing in a fog, a peaceful expression on his face. Harry threw feelings of pain and alertness into his mind, and the figure that was Neville's mind and soul seemed to wake up. The fog began to lift and a burning anger in his eyes alerted Harry to the fact that Neville wanted to wake up, needed to do something and had struggled quite a bit before giving in.

Neville woke with a start and Harry quickly did the same with Ginny, but ducked a nasty looking hex when she woke up and her eyes met his. She had clearly been tense for some time, and the shocking wake up to a stranger had startled her.

Harry put a finger to his lips and for some reason they both quieted. Harry looked like a powerful man, they felt strength and control when they looked at him.

Harry sighed, wiping his forehead from the light sweat that was building from the tension. He had been under far more, but he was just not expecting it, and he had not slept well last night. He was a teenager at his core, and he was nervous about how he would be welcomed, whether he would have friends…

Harry put one wand on Todd's right temple, and one on the left. It was a variation of the Memory wiping spell, but could only be done with two wands, and a lot of confidence and practice. If he messed up Todd's mind could become vegetable.

Harry focused and slowly erased the last few minutes. He repeated the spell, wiping the area where the memory was located nine times. When someone lost their memories to magic, it was still there in the mind, deep inside and accessible via a few methods.

However, when the memory and its location was wiped over six times, the memory was well and truly gone forever. Harry then replaced the memory with Neville and Ginny suddenly breaking the spell at once, and telling him that they had been slowly waiting to do so while he let his guard down. It was not that unrealistic, and the memory Harry planted held emotions, thoughts and a general experience he would not doubt. Harry then layered the memory ten times until it was well and truly ingrained into Todd's mind.

Harry could only hope he had done it right, though he was fairly confident he had. Deep exhaustion weighed down on him now and Harry got up quick, letting go of the spell on Todd and walked out of the compartment where Draco had been carried off by the goons by the legs, his head dragging behind.

Ginny and Neville followed him, dying to ask questions. Harry however was in no mood and he entered a compartment nearby that at first sight looked empty. Hermione Granger sat by the window and Ginny and Neville looked horrified to see her crying.

Hermione looked up her eyes bloodshot from crying, her cheeks held light tear stains, and tears still welled up in her eyes as she looked at the newcomers. She was not scared to admit she was crying, especially in front of the ones who had caused it, had betrayed her.

Suddenly it hit her hard as she looked into Neville and Ginny's eyes. They seemed too clear and worried, so different from the cold blank looks. How could she have missed it? How could she not have noticed? How could she have missed the connections, missed the blaring warning signs?

She barely even glanced at the figure with the messy raven black hair and bright green eyes who stood by the corner of the door, his eyes sharp and alert and looking away, trying to give the three friends some privacy while they explained the situation.

The rest of the train ride was full of growing joy and happiness. Half way into the trip Luna walked in, and Harry noticed her eyes were clear of the spell. Obviously she had somehow been least affected, and she had broken it herself.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Instead of going with the first years Harry met an invisible Dumbledore off to the side. Harry saw through the Headmaster's spell because of his glasses, and followed Dumbledore towards the castle. Harry was led to a Thestral off to the side that supported a smaller carriage.

Harry followed Dumbledore inside and was surprised to see Professor Mcgonagall who he had met only once. She smiled a thin upturn of her lips and nodded lightly to them both.

"Harry you are going to enter a bit late. We need to sort you privately, and the hat requested we do it privately and alone. The hat is a bit senile in some ways, but he seemed to believe this was necessary"

Harry nodded and smiled, knowing there was more to it than what the old man was saying. Nobody else knew Harry Potter was joining Hogwarts, not even the ones he spent some hours with on the train. Dumbledore wanted to use him to send a shockwave, both in the school and the Wizarding world. Using that momentum he could try and manipulate both Harry and others, as if he was Harry's guardian and controlled him.

Harry remembered something Lisa had told Harry when she spoke of Hogwarts and how the system of points worked, as well as who was in charge and what powers and control each teacher and faculty member held.

She had pointed to a chapter in a book dedicated to Dumbledore. "This man is a dangerous Wizard. He means well and truly wants the best for us all, but he does not consider any single person's needs, safety or success. He cares only about something he calls "The Greater Good". He will try to control you and I won't let him. Assuming I cannot help you either because you are in school or somehow not available, you must remember not to look him in the eyes too often, and to never take his words, favors or actions at face value"

Harry smiled inside, grateful that she had taken the time to tutor him in all important aspects of his future. She had been so good at making the studies fun and interesting, even going as far as making a board game out of it, using small animated figures. Harry quickly learned how one action could affect many others, and although he did not like it, he found out that if he was smart and careful about it, his fame and power could give him a huge advantage.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Hermione sat at her seat at the Gryffindor table, her mind racing so fast it was almost too much for even her own mind to process. Ginny sat next to her on her right, Neville to her left, and Luna was itching to join as soon as the sorting was complete.

That guy in the compartment, something was oddly familiar about him. She had never met him but he still looked oddly similar to something she was struggling to remember in her mind.

The sorting hat warned of bad things and that the houses needed to be united more than ever. Hermione barely focused on the woman at the staff table who looked a lot like a toad in pink robes.

The sorting was over and Dumbledore stood up to speak. When the toad lady interrupted and began her speech, only Hermione really tried to focus on her simpering drawling words. She understood the meaning though, she could read the message between the lines. This woman wanted to control the school, using the ministry and any underhanded tactics she could manage.

Before she finished her voice was cut off by a bang as the great doors opened wide with a whoosh. The candles flickered from the force, and it seemed to startle and send waves of fear, shock and excitement through everyone.

A figure stepped through with fluid movement, his face covered by a hood. Harry inwardly smirked at the spectacle he was playing but was also quite upset at the situation. He was not sure why he had listened to Dumbledore when he asked him to show off and make a grand entrance.

Harry stopped and almost everyone's breath was held as they waited to see who this dark mysterious figure was. Harry pulled off his hood and looked up as every eye in the hall stared at him.

The lightning bolt scar was clear for all to see, and his messy hair seemed to sway lightly in a none-existent wave. Harry lowered his magic a bit, ceasing the manipulation of his image.

His cheeks grew warm from the unwanted attention and he ran a hand through his hair nervously. "Hi everyone, I'm Harry Potter" he announced awkwardly. 'way to ruin my entrance' he thought with an inward laugh.

That was when the silence broke and hundreds of voices filled the air.

Hermione stared hard at the boy who had no doubt helped Neville and Ginny, and had sat with her for hours. She had recognized something about him, but it was not from an image of him. She had been lightly researching the bad side of the Wizarding world, and had come across Voldemort very quickly. She had seen a picture of baby Harry, and she realized he looked exactly like the pictures of James Potter.

She felt a flash of anger at him for not telling her on the train. She was also annoyed at his haughty entrance, and she looked away. She had also noticed his eyes, and they held a darkness she was nervous about. It was the eyes of a killer, of someone who had made hard choices, seen and experienced loss and killed often enough to make it come out in his eyes.

For some reason Harry's face fell slightly when he looked over and saw her reaction. On the train he had found her rather pretty, and the rejection annoyed him slightly. Its not like he really liked the attention.

However it was a smart move he knew. Someone had taken a few pictures already, and it would bring a powerful image to his appearance. It might not feel so good, but Dumbledore was right on this, the image would give him an image for the adults to see, not a school kid alone, but also a powerful ally…or enemy.

Todd Gaunt watched Harry like a hawk, his black eyes glittering with interest. Harry's met his again and both set of eyes were calculating and weary. Harry still did not know how dangerous the Slytherin was, and he was sure he would find out sooner or later.

Todd Gaunt licked his lips in anticipation to battle this new force. This new student, Harry Potter was a powerful match for him. His eyes also held experience, death; both by his hands and death to those he loved/cared about.

Todd Gaunt grinned widely, his cold eyes shamelessly glinting with wild excitement at the thought of battling and then torturing his newest opponent. After all that was one of his biggest joys in life, taking down worth opponents and making them feel pain. That Mudblood was first, and her friends. They held promise and he wanted to destroy it.

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**A/N**: I roved quickly over some things in this chapter, but it will slow down again. Oh and you have **not** yet seen Harry's dark side.

Please review, especially if there is something bothering you, or you like it. =)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N:** I am trying to keep this story simple and with less complex and small plots. So no worries about this chapter, there is not a long or complex sub-plot.

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_"You failed Harry, I expected more of you!" a voice Harry dearly loved echoed from a figure in the corner. The figure rose and pulled down her hood to reveal Lisa, but her face was twisted in an evil smile and she whispered, "I gave you so much Harry…You were my son, I believed in you. Now I regret it"_

_Her face twisted further and she threw her head back in a very manic laugh._

_"nooooooo!" Harry screamed when her face changed and she looked like her kind self he had known but with a glint of steel protruding out of her chest, her eyes fading with death._

_Everything went dark and he was in a Hogwarts train compartment. It was cold and he felt goose bumps on his arms, and a feeling of dread filled his gut. Todd Gaunt was suddenly standing next to him his black eyes reflecting an icy cold that glinted with blood lust. Harry noticed Hermione on the ground and she looked up at him with pleading eyes. _

_Todd Gaunt laughed a chilly echoing sound and pointed his wand at Hermione. A bright green flash of light and she was staring up at him, dead. Lisa replaced her and was also hit by a green light. He saw many more countless people he knew being killed while he stood helplessly unable to move or blink._

_Suddenly he was in what looked like a football stadium, but it was made of wood and in the center stood a large log stump. A dark cloaked figure stood next to it, easily ten feet tall with a long pointy face, sharp eye brows and a smile that was so wide it gave Harry a sense of true fear. His wide smile seemed to focus on his eyes, or vice versa. _

_Suddenly Harry was standing still in the stadium watching as Lisa appeared at the top of the stadium. Her eyes were blank and filled with defeat and hopelessness. She glided over the ground and made her way down to the figure with the stump. She was moving in eerie slow motion and her hair swirled around her like she was actually slowed down._

_She made her way down to the stump and tears filled Harry's eyes at what he knew was coming. The figure cocked his head at Harry, his eyes holding a wicked glint of amusement. Harry felt like ice cold water was trickling down his spine and felt a primal terror rising in his chest._

_He watched in horror as the clocked figure reached into his massive long black cloak and pulled out a scythe. Harry screamed and tried to look away as it came down on a kneeling Lisa. Harry watched as the same happened once more to everyone he loved, cared about or even just liked._

_His voice was raw and hurting but he was still screaming loudly somehow. Tears of pain fell down his cheeks like hot lava soaking out of his mind and into the physical. _

_He watched as he was once again standing elsewhere. He was in a forest and there was something chasing him. He could not be sure what but he knew it was dangerous. He was out of breath and was sweating heavily like he had been running for hours already. _

_Harry pulled out his wand and barely noticed it was not his own wand. His hands were also too pale to be his, and were more slender and held small scars. 'I must not falter, I must not be found' his mind thought over and over as he ran. Slowing down for a moment he took a deep gulp of air and waved his wand in the shape of a W. A jet of purple flames poured out of his wand and caught to the nearby foliage and trees at great speeds. It held very little heat and it did not actually burn anything it caught onto. 'Good, distraction. Now I must hide and hope'_

_Harry ran over to a particular thick tree and waved his wand muttering a quick spell. He walked right into the tree and felt suddenly a heavy weight on his mind. A slow deep consciousness pressed down on his mind, a vast amount of confusing memories of trees and wind and small animals. _

_Harry seemed to lose himself to the tree's mind and it seemed to calm his mind somewhat. Suddenly a feeling of extreme pain and sorrow shot through his body, the feelings coming from the tree. The tree that was probably hundreds of years old was cut down in a split second ending hundreds of years of life and memories in a second._

_He leapt out of the tree just in time to see the tree fall from a powerful cutting spell._

Harry woke with a gasp and found himself looking into concerned eyes of the nurse Madam Pomphrey.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

A figure lay broken and battered by a small stream, his escape from the tree and his weakened state made him slow and now helpless. Three men stood over him with sadistic grins on their faces. One had a huge club on his shoulder, wand in the other hand, the other an ax that he seemed to treat like his baby. The last was hidden by a deep cloak but was clearly a young man, if not Hogwarts age.

He cried out to the heavens a silent plea on his mind. 'Please help me; I have done nothing wrong, only saved many innocent lives. Please send me help! Do it for my Godson if for no other reason!'

The cry was to any God or Gods out there, or to anyone that controlled the universe; really anyone who could help him.

Once more three sources heard a cry for distress and begin considering once more whether it was in their interests to help the ones who had wronged them so greatly. The last call had been declined, each for a difference reason.

Magic was a being of survival and considered all the benefits, but did not care very much otherwise. Magic decided not to help.

The illuminati or as the group was truly called, "The Eyes of Power" heard the call and planned on using this opportunity to use the desperate call for help to get some debts in hand, but they would not be able to make it in time.

The last was a cat that was often hated for being too smart and aware of students out of bed. Norris hid behind a statue while Filch when to the bathroom. She changed from a cat that nobody would suspect into her natural form, a stunning beautiful woman that held easily as much allure as a Veela, being half Veela half a being of beauty like Sophia.

She stretched out her sore body and leapt onto the wall on all fours and quickly darted at top speed on the ceiling of the halls, her speed so great and still accelerating that her figure was barely a blur as it passed the empty halls and sped to the grounds and past the boundary.

The figure that was about to be beaten to death now had one of the most powerful person coming to save him. If he had been anyone other Sirius Black that was lying on the ground about to be killed by overenthusiastic Bounty Hunters, they would have been very grateful when he was saved.

However Sirius was not one to be grateful when he owed a debt one of the most powerful beings in the world, even if the red headed beautiful woman who made all three men turn into big puddles of pudding, winked at him and made him rather at ease with her playful seduction. She was also the only who did not care much about debts.

If Sirius had known he was flirting with Filch's cat, he may not have been as enthusiastic.

OoOoOoOoOoO

It was difficult to convince the school nurse that he was fine and wanted to leave. She was fussy and clearly cared about all her students welfare. She smiled a slightly frosty smile when he got up and walked out of the infirmary. His head was pounding and she had said he could go, and he was grateful to her for trying to care for him after he was brought to the infirmary for screaming so hard and not waking up. His dorm mates had panicked and gone for help, and had been brought to the infirmary in fear, especially when a wave of magic begin to leak from his pores in hot pulses of energy.

Harry sighed and made his way to his dorm, trying to avoid everyone until he calmed down and got ready for the day.

He thought back to his dreams and sighed heavily. He had been getting those nightmares a lot recently. It had been a lot less frequently for some time, but it was getting bad again. The only strange one was the last one where he was hiding in a dream and got out just as he woke up and the tree was killed. 'What the hell was that about?' he thought to himself. The nightmares were one thing but the dream had been more on the weird side than scary or haunting to him.

He was so deep in thought that he barely had time to react when a blur of bushy brown hair shot into him. They both slammed to the ground but he twisted and fell to his knees, catching the girl in his arms and slowing the fall.

"Hermione?" he asked gently, wondering what in the world she was doing running like that down the hall.

"Oh hello Harry, I was just in a hurry, I saw something that needs to go directly to Dumbledore. Have you seen him, I heard he was walking toward the infirmary, I'm sorry" and with barely a glance or thanks she grabbed her bag that had fallen and resumed her running down the hall.

Harry sighed and wondered what that was all about. He decided to forget about it for the moment and finally made it to the dorm. Almost everyone was awake and getting ready to go to breakfast. It seemed they were all waiting for him though because everyone turned to look at him when he entered and they all looked like they were waiting for some sign or explanation for something.

He noticed that many of the eyes held fear and confusion in them, and some even held a glint of worry and tension.

"Why were you screaming last night?" a voice asked him from behind. Ronald Weasley stood there his arms folded and his expression suspicious and almost angry, like Harry was evil and he should be hung right then and there.

Harry was beginning to hate Ronald Weasley.

**-Flashback-**

Dumbledore announced he was going to be in Gryffindor and Harry smiled lightly at the cheering from that table.

Harry walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Ginny who was sitting next to Hermione.

Harry noticed that despite what he had done, Hermione's somewhat cold treatment of him already seemed to affect her friends and they were only simply polite.

Harry shrugged and looked forward and into the eyes of Ronald Weasley. "I am Ron, Ron Weasley" he announced loudly and confidently.

"Hi I'm—H" Harry was cut off by Ron "yea yea Harry Potter, great I'm happy you are in Gryffindor. You only need to know three things. Hermione is off limits, you can't talk to the snakes like Draco Malfoy, and since we will be best mates you just follow what I say and we'll win the Quidditch cup and have loads of fun"

Harry was shocked by his statements, judgments, assumptions and rude manners .

He had lowered his voice when he had mentioned Hermione but Harry was sure her face had turned red and her hands had clenched angrily.

Something about Ron reminded Harry of a child who had failed to grown up in maturity. He seemed eager and clueless, and he clearly did not think things through, especially before spouting them out to the world.

Throughout the meal Ron was rude, ate like a pig (Harry had been strictly taught manners and respect by both Lisa and Sophia because it sent good impressions and was a good trait to have).

Ron also bugged him about Quidditch and chess the entire meal and back to the common room. He had gotten Hermione to laugh nearby when he had rolled his eyes and playfully mimicked Rons' eager expressive retelling of how to play chess, and Harry had sarcastically answered Ron's question of "Do you know how to play chess" with "I have no idea" and Ron had reminded him of the rules in great and unnecessary details.

It got worse until Harry had developed a headache. Normally he would had more patience but Hogwarts was a huge move and change in his schedule and he was jumpy and not in the mood. So when Ron had turned suddenly from a chess game that he had convinced a tired Harry to play and began yelling at Hermione when she reminded a younger student to her homework Harry exploded.

"Ron you need to shut up and listen!" The entire full common room turned to silently watch what they all suspected was coming.

Ron turned slowly, his ears already turning red from the beginnings of anger.

"You are not a bad bloke and I do not want to make fun of you or anything. But you need to grow up and until you do I cannot be your friend. You are immature, loud and your words are unfiltered and without consideration to who you say them to or around."

Ron's jaw was clenched and Harry could almost see steam coming out of his ears, his ears bright red from his temper.

"Listen mate, I think you have a good heart but you act like a first year and I cannot stand by and watch it"

Harry regret saying anything when Ron stormed upstairs his fists clenched. The only reason he did not attack him was because he was Harry Potter and he was in shock at the change.

Harry's face fell into his hands on the table and he took a deep breath. Looking up the whole common room was staring at him in shock, some with expressions of respect, others with a glint of interest at the now even more interesting Harry Potter.

**-End of Flashback-**

Harry stared into Ron's eyes and laughed before quietly but clearly; saying, "It is not you're business. However since it seems I was loud and bothered everyone, know this. I have seen and done things you would not dream of. I have done things I am not proud of but out of necessity, and sometimes the things I have done and experienced comes out in my sleep. It won't happen again"

Harry's eyes met every single person's in the room and they all saw the truth in his eyes, they held a depth and history that was more than many adults held. A maturity was also reflected in his gem green eyes. The more intelligent people in the room also noticed a lot of pain and anger hidden just beyond the good that was Harry Potter.

Harry smiled a genuine smile and waved his goodbye as he made his way to his dorm to get his books. Right before he was out of sight he winked at a staring Hermione. She blushed lightly and tried to look upset but he could see he was warming up to her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Something about Harry Potter caught Hermione's particular attention. Firstly it was his very direct interest in her that caught her like a dear in the headlights. She had never had a boy act so interested in her right away.

She was also crushing on him, his messy black hair and bright green eyes that seemed to darken a little when he was emotional or intense. She also found him incredibly physically fit from what she could see.

Another aspect was his attitude, strong and confident and she was sure he was smart and would compete with her for best student. It was like he had been through so much and he had discovered his true self, his confidence flowed from the knowledge of knowing his limits, his strengths and weaknesses, and having a clear idea of exactly who he was as a person.

Harry found something about Hermione from the beginning that drew him to her. She was not like the other girls who had tried to flirt with him often. After all he was Harry Potter, and his training gave him a well defined and fit body. Hermione however did not react that way, and she seemed to care very little that he was Harry Potter, and did not kiss up to him or treat as more than human.

She was also smart and he could see she had a caring and compassionate heart when she spoke to her friends, he could see there was a deep bond between Ginny, Luna, Neville and Hermione.

He also found her attractive, she had a great form and curves, and her brown eyes were soft and passionate. His crush on her and desire to get to know her just as a person at the very least, seemed to increase as the next few weeks passed, when she smiled back when he grinned at her, or she would respond to his teasing passing remarks with witty playful come backs and jokes.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

"_My brother was killed_" a voice from the shadows spoke in confident tone, his voice betraying no emotions.

Lord Voldemort sat on a throne, his pale hands stroking his wand as his flaming red eyes looked thoughtful. "How was he killed?" Voldemort asked with a whispering hiss.

_"I do not know My lord, but Mcnare was found as well, both transfigured into pudding but dead, my lord"_

Voldemort's face twisted in a thin sarcastic smile, then he hissed, "_If they play creative, so will we"_

Todd Gaunt stepped out the shadows and bowed at Voldemorts feet. "Father, perhaps it is time? Harry Potter is at Hogwarts"

Voldemort laughed a cold and high pitched laugh and glowered down at Todd. "Father?! Father?!" You were created for one purpose, a killing machine. Do not make me regret my choice"

Todd Gaunt nodded calmly and firmly at Voldemort.

"Can I tell mother-I mean Bellatrix of the death of her son?"

Voldemort lifted his wand and hissed out "Crucio"

Todd slithered around in pain, his jaw clenched tight and his breathing rough, but he refused to scream or make a noise. Voldemort stopped the curse and stared into Todd's eyes for a few moments before nodding.

"Tell Bella if you wish"

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Professor Umbridge was agitated as she surveyed her class of Defense Against The Dark Arts Students. Harry Potter was far more crafty than she would have liked, and Cedric Diggory refused to be egged on by her taunts. She wanted to get Harry the most now though. The last few weeks of school had been very bad for her goals. Apparently Harry Potter was convincing everyone that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Made was very dangerous, not an old broken criminal who happened to survive with barely a hint of life left.

She still doubted that he was even back at all, but even if he was, Harry Potter had done something as a baby, and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was certainly not a real threat, not to her beloved ministry and if he was a threat at all it was too Mudbloods, who had stolen magic from Purebloods and deserved to die.

She looked away from Harry's eyes, green orbs that she had eerily sunk into for a few moments. The class looked at her odd as she stood their for over two minutes staring at Harry Potter.

Harry's eyes widened ever slightly and he quickly formulated a plan.

He grinned, this toad was going to be very sorry she came to Hogwarts.

* * *

**A/N**: Again, I am trying to keep the plot simple in this story.

Please review thanks


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do really want to though jk :D

**A/N:** This is NOT a Ron bashing story. However it may seem that way for a bit. Like I mentioned, no need to worry about too many subplots, most will be resolved quick and with a bang! Enjoy! :D

* * *

It was a rare day one fine Monday morning. The air was cool and fresh and still held a bite from the cold of the early hour. The grass on the Hogwarts grounds had a light frosty layer that crunched softly as Harry Potter walked around the grounds. He had been doing this for years back at the Temples, taking a walk and clearing his mind, relaxing for the day ahead.

He also did a lot of thinking and planning, though not until he fully woke up and often had a cup of coffee or a spell to help him wake. Right before he was ready to go inside he would speed up and jog around until he felt even more refreshed and had some exercise.

He annoyed some of the other members of Gryffindor by being rather cheery so early in the morning. He heard Ron mutter "everyone hates morning people! So damn cheerful it's sickening"

Harry was barely cheerful and more alert than anything else, but he did know how they felt. Training at first had been very difficult. Getting up so early and right to training was brutal, and he remembered feeling angry at his teachers when they smiled and acted like it was the easiest thing while he struggled to keep his eyes open and his legs moving.

However with time it was easier and he now enjoyed waking up earlier and hearing the silence of the world. Seeing the sun rise was fun too, the red orb rising slowly as Harry basked in the early morning atmosphere. On the rare days that he missed waking up early, his entire day lost some of its excitement, so he strived to get that bonus every day.

Harry slept very deeply using both a spell and some Occlumency, and his training gave him the tools needed to still stay safe despite his very deep and restful sleep. He now put up wards on his bed, including a silencing charm to keep his nightmares from coming out. For some reason he still had nightmares despite sleeping so deeply and strongly.

He was able to wake up so early due to this deep sleep, but he was troubled by the nightmares. He knew that sleep was an extremely important thing for all beings and that with plenty of sleep he was literally a better person and more alive. However the nightmares were preventing him from getting the best sleep and he was deeply troubled by them. Sophia thought it was due to his experiences killing at such a young age, as well as experiencing so much loss, stress and pain so early on.

Harry tried every spell, potion and exercise to try and help his troubled sleep, but nothing really worked and his horror filled nights continued, evolving to an increasingly worse situation. With his scar gone, and the Horcrux destroyed, there did not seem to be a logical explanation.

Harry was currently thinking about a letter he had received the day before from Sophia. It had been extremely vague and in code, but Harry had understood the message after some hard thinking. She wanted him to be very careful around Todd Gaunt.

She suspected something and Harry was sure it was the same suspicion he was developing. She may have had a deeper understand of her suspicion since Harry could not actually place what he was feeling in his gut, but it was not pleasant, whatever it was.

Harry sighed as he pondered Todd Gaunt with a flicker of worry brushing against his nerves. The guy was not a normal student, of that Harry could tell. Like Harry he seemed to have some experience before Hogwarts, and had also come late to Hogwarts, though not nearly as late as he had. There was something familiar about him as well; something Lisa had showed him from Hogwarts. He could not remember precisely, but he remembered her skimming through an old alumni book from Hogwarts. He remembered a boy looking very similar to Todd Gaunt, and he remembered how Lisa had suddenly paled as she flipped to a young Hagrid, and back to someone named Tom Riddle.

Harry had not thought much of it at the time, and it was around the same time that Lisa had warned him about his scar, so he had other thoughts on his mind then, and because of his age he had been less inclined to worry or analyze the info.

Harry did have a sinking suspicion but it was so absurd and he had so little information that he let it alone for the moment, hoping he was wrong, hoping Sophia was not thinking along the same lines as his mind was pushing towards.

Harry did know one thing and that was that the only student who was a match for Harry was Todd Gaunt. Todd was only slightly more powerful now, but Harry could tell he was a vicious and 'all out' fighter who would use everything and anything to win, and probably enjoy every second.

Harry sped up the pace, his legs pounding the ground as he shot forward; running as fast as he could. He needed to get nervous energy out, and jogging was not going to work with how much time he had left before he needed to go in, shower and get ready for the day.

He thought back on the plan to get rid o Umbridge and jail her at the very least, and he smiled a grim smile. He did need to work on a few details and create a backup plan, but he was fairly certain her time in Hogwarts and as a free toad was nearing its end.

High up and in an alcove looking down on the grounds Hermione stared in shock as Harry sped up and practically flew across the grounds. She suddenly felt a strong desire to join him in running, but she was not sure if he would welcome it, and she was also uncertain if she could keep up with his blurred form. She also wanted to be more fit, and in truth she wanted to get close to him. She was much nicer to him now, and she really did want to get closer to him.

Harry Potter was thinking about Hermione at that moment, changing the subject of his thoughts to a girl that seemed to invade his thoughts quite often recently. He liked her a lot and he had made it pretty clear from the start (to the growing annoyance of the fan girls). He was not convinced the feeling was mutual though, but he was willing to be just her friend if she was really not interested in taking it further at all.

She was being far more receptive though and now, after over a month of school, she seemed to be a lot more open to his flirting and playfulness.

Harry smirked as he thought back to how he had once been with girls. His flirty and fearless attitude had not always been around; on the contrary he had been quite the awkward and clueless teenager for some time. Sophia's light flirts and being around some Veela and other beings similar to Sophia, as well as the many intense events that happened in life seemed to give him a greater confidence than he may have had naturally otherwise.

Harry's thoughts turned to the last girl he liked, a girl who had shown him so much love when he needed it so desperately. Someone who was there at his worst hours when it all came back and smashed against his emotions, the memories and pain breaking the walls of control he constantly built. Someone who had given him many fond memories, but one devastating heart breaker.

Brianna was her name, and he had been very close to her in the temple in Egypt. She was a Vampire and unlike the image that most Wizarding folks had of their kind, she was amazing in his opinion. Right from the start she had been friendly and fun and he had taken to her just as strongly as she had to him. He had not known at first she was a Vampire and when she had revealed it casually after more than two months of knowing her, he was barely shocked and not at all bothered like some others were.

Even for the temple Vampires were rare and not many of them ever became members. They were very secretive in general and rarely showed themselves. Only the outcasts ever left their homes deep beneath the earth and in the shadowy depths of giant mountains. Those were the tramps that hung out in Nockturn Alley and reflected the Vampire race like the jail system to the civilized world; not a positive image.

Brianna was beautiful and confident and she was very comfortable with who she was. She flirted with Harry constantly and it not only boosted his skills, but it also helped him on a general level with control, confidence and the ability to respond with witty and clever remarks, which in turn led to better skills in manipulation with words.

Harry could confidently acknowledge that she was one of the best teachers he had in many respects. It was also easier for him to learn from her because he liked her and truly wanted to impress her as well as prove to himself that he could be great. He had learned quite a bit from her, in all areas and flowing from her brilliant mind with effortless grace.

Harry pictured Brianna's pale blue eyes that would darken and sparkle when she was playful. Her wide grin would cheer up his dead immediately, and her soft voice helped him calm and return to himself when he was truly lost.

He truly wished things could have worked out between them, that he could have seen her smile once more. Besides the death of his best friend and Lisa's dark cursed slumber, Brianna was the most painful and infuriating events that happened in his life.

He wished she was dead, he truly did. If she was dead she would be at peace, free from the bonds of evil.

Sometimes his thoughts of Brianna overwhelmed him, especially when she appeared in his nightmares, always alone and never in another nightmare. He would wake up with a feeling of sadistic anger, a desire to hurt not only the ones who caused Brianna's pain, but all the evil people who caused innocents to hurt. If someone had seen his face when he was in those moments they would truly lose control of their bladder, or at the very least they would see evil and anger reflecting in his crystal green orbs.

Harry slowed down and leaned against the wall to stretch when an alarm rang in his mind. It was an alarm set to alert when someone was casting a dangerous curse nearby and had the intention to harm someone. It was a very difficult spell to maintain, and only recently was he able to keep it with a few dozen feet around him.

Harry leapt into the air and kicked off the wall of the castle, spun gracefully and landed on his feet crouching, a stunner and two arrows made of black magic missing him by finger breaths. Harry activated a very draining shield on his skin, a very powerful shield that would keep him safe until he found the attacker.

"Checkmate"

Harry heard a chilly voice murmur from behind him as a bright green light filled his vision and the voice filled his mind with panic and deep emotions.

* * *

**A/N:** Is this a cliff hanger? It is? Oh well sorry, I should have another one soon. Next chapter will help you out if you are confused...which you should be...I guess...

Please review, I really appreciate and I promise I will put in an extra two hours of time to write if I get two reviews…just kidding. Thanks for reading! Oh and thank you for following, I'm grateful for some many favorites on a story I thought would be an after note.

**Over 100 followers and almost 100 Favorites, that is wonderful for me, thanks everyone! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Sorry about last chapter, enjoy!

* * *

_Harry slowed down and leaned against the wall to stretch when an alarm rang in his mind. It was an alarm set to alert when someone was casting a dangerous curse nearby and had the intention to harm someone. It was a very difficult spell to maintain, and only recently was he able to keep it with a few dozen feet around him._

_Harry leapt into the air and kicked off the wall of the castle, spun gracefully and landed on his feet crouching, a stunner and two arrows made of black magic missing him by finger breaths. Harry activated a very draining shield on his skin, a very powerful shield that would keep him safe until he found the attacker._

_"Checkmate"_

_Harry heard from behind him as a bright green light filled his vision._

The years of training and hard work paid off when he dropped and rolled to the side, his instincts and adrenaline powering him on. The curse was a killing curse and when it shot past Harry and hit a step the stone exploded in a shower of rock and a cloud of dirt.

However the attacker was on the move and Harry barely got a look of a figure with a deep hood waving a long and slender wand he recognized before another killing curse shot from the wand, followed up by a second and third. Whoever was attacking was extremely strong, and that helped Harry calm because it meant that this was NOT Brianna. It was certainly her voice that had said "Checkmate" and the wand was unusual in its white color and thin width.

Harry and the imposter circled each other when Harry stood and pulled both of his wands. It was a risk since he was not allowed technically, however this was going to be one of the toughest fights he had. Harry was puzzled and practically burning with outrage at the imposter. Not many people knew that Brianna had not died that night, that she had been captured by her own kind and was going to be broken and reborn as a monster and a solder. Not all vampires were like that, but her particular clan ran that way, they saw it as normal.

This imposter not only obviously knew she was alive, knew she was close to Harry and certainly had seen her before to know her wand and her voice and probably her looks.

Harry's eyes narrowed as he studied the figures stance. A deep part of him did not want to attack because it was nervous that somehow it was Brianna. However even it was, she was dangerous now and would kill him with barely a blink or hesitation. It had been of the hardest things he had to do, not going of and rescuing her. He had begged Sophia to wipe his mind, and instead she had used a spell to make it hard for him to focus on thoughts of her for some time.

'her stance is solid and relaxed. Its definitely a male and by the relaxed carefree stance it must be a young person. Even powerful experienced duelers don't play games in duels.'

Harry continued analyzing as they circled each other, Harry looking for weaknesses, the figure lazily pointing his wand at Harry and remaining silent.

"You made a mistake attacking me" Harry spoke in a neutral tone, trying to prompt the figure to speak. All he heard was a chuckle that had the voice of Brianna but the wickedness that would never come out of her mouth.

Harry waved his wand in the shape of a V and then slashed down towards the ground. A spark flew into the air and shot down growing into a bright green lightning and struck the figure.

"Harry Potter, using dark magic I am very impressed. Perhaps you have hope after all" the voice said with humor and glee in the voice.

Harry quickly shifted stance and waved both his wands in the movements of a conductor. There was movement in the ground between the two and a large figure rose from the ground. It looked like it was made of dry dirt with huge muscles and at least nine feet tall. Harry waved his wands in a constant motion and the giant dirt monster leapt at the imposter.

Harry was not entirely shocked to see a figure appearing next to the imposter. A figure that looked exactly like the common image of Death, scythe and all appeared. Harry was shocked at the creation since it was one o the hardest pieces of magic around. To make a figure like Harry's was dark magic and difficult but not incredibly hard to do with practice and a large magical core.

The figure of death was called "Animation of Life" and unlike Harry's, was able to do a limited amount of magic. It was so draining to keep for more than twenty seconds or so in battle that Harry never took the spell very far in his training.

Harry now felt nervous for his own chances of success in the fight. Harry quickly ran farther away putting more distance between himself and the imposter. Harry yanked his right wand over his face like he was pulling a string and his dirt monster leapt into the air and landed next to him.

Harry watched in shock as the scythe was brought down on the ground and two killing curses flew out of the figures eyes. "Who the hell are you?!" Harry snarled seeing red as he dodged the attack.

The figure slowly pulled down the cloak and Harry saw Brianna's face for a moment. Then the person grew a bit and quickly morphed into Todd Gaunt.

"I do not like Hogwarts Potter. As soon as I kill you I can leave and do my own thing. I will admit you are powerful and a good opponent but you could use a good dose of pain and defeat. I will kill you and give you death after you suffer"

"Reducto!"

Harry followed the curse with more dark magic, more bolts of lightning and lethal spell after spell. He realized he needed to get rid of the Animation of Life as quickly as possible. Harry placed his right hands wand in his left hand and pointed his palm at his target.

Closing his eyes and focusing his magic he whispered words of magic, words that held power by themselves. As always he felt a chill of vast power as he tapped in to not only his deep reserves of magic but of an unknown vast magic that seemed to reside over everything.

Energy shot from his palm and flowed to the death figure. Todd looked shocked but waved his wand in time to move his creation out of the way. Harry focused the beam of powerful energy and with a sudden jerk refocused on Todd. Todd's concentration broke and when he moved to defend himself Harry snapped the energy stream back to the now unmoving Animation of Life.

The figure instantly exploded into dark ashes and smoke when the magic hit and Harry dropped to his knees in exhaustion. Todd look slightly tired but perfectly capable of fighting, while Harry was far too exhausted to fight anymore. He thought the Animation of Life would weaken him enough that they would both be tired but he was wrong.

Harry noticed Todd's wand was different now and he also noticed a ring on his finger that seemed to radiate magic. 'that makes sense, he obviously keeps a reserve of magic on him. We think alike in many ways, this makes things harder'

Harry debated using his own reserves he had stored but realized it was too late to use them. It would take a minute to crack the codes and protections on the reserves and besides, the reserves were meant for a fight against Voldemort.

Harry thought quickly and came to a decision. The fight had to end right now or he really would be in trouble. He was just about to get up quickly and began fighting with a different style to catch Todd off guard when he noticed Todd was staring ahead with shock on his face frozen. As he watched Todd's arms and legs snapped together and he fell face first onto the ground rigid as a board.

Standing there with a look of terror stubborn determination was Hermione. She waved her wand and Todd rose slowly into the air.

"Hermione!" Harry yelled as he ran over to her. She looked up and met his eyes and he smiled, his gaze reflecting his gratitude. Her warm chocolate eyes seemed to convey "you are welcome" but she wordless pointed her wand at Todd's head and began muttering spells.

"Wiping his mind?" Harry asked her with an impressed look.

She shook her head and muttered, "I am using a spell professor Dumbledore taught me and Ginny. He has been tutoring us for a while now, Ginny more than me but still. He said that an old friend convinced him that it would help if some of the students were able to defend themselves well."

Todd woke up and looked around. Hermione kept her wand close to her side ready to jump into action and she lowered Todd to the ground. "Todd you know what you need to do right?" Hermione asked like she was talking to a slow moron. A lot like she spoke to Ron actually Harry thought with a smirk.

Todd nodded and stood up nodding to them both with a natural look, as if he was politely friendly with them.

Hermione grinned at Harry's shocked look and explained, "It is a form of binding, I have locked away all of his memories and general thoughts and feelings. He will remember some things, like who he is and where he was born and who his parents are, but he will conveniently forget anything to do with attacking you, or being whatever he is"

Harry hugged her gratefully and yawned. "I'm going inside, you coming?"

She nodded and the two made their way inside, both tired but relieved.

Meanwhile Todd walked into an empty classroom, put up wards and started laughing. Granger was smart and powerful, and her binding spell was clever. There was one problem with it, his parents had everything to do with who he was. The second he thought of his parents and who he was because of it, the spell was broken.

The two teens would be in for a shock he was sure of it. He now had the power of surprise. However he would not underestimate the two, and it was likely Hermione would be very cautious anyways, she was not one to rely on a spell and forget.

Todd Gaunt grinned widely. It was time to accelerate other plans, including a matter of a toad.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Dumbledore sighed as he cleaned up the grounds. It was amazing that nobody had seen anything, but he was certain it was the castle that had masked the battle. The castle was intelligent in its own way, and for some reason it did not want this fight to come out.

After the grounds looked fine again, Dumbledore made his way to his office with a sigh. He had not been able to see the battle, but his instruments had recorded it for him. He had watched it four times and was certain he needed to get in contact with a few people. All the temples would need to know, and they would probably want to get involved because of Harry.

Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel would be very interested in the event, and he suspected they had some things they needed to tell Harry as it was. He also wanted to ask them advice on something very important. He found recently that it actually felt good to have another opinion, to have someone else that would help him make choices, and when a hard choice was still agreed on, he would not shoulder the responsibly alone.

OoOoOoOoOoO

"Sirius Black! Sit your ass down!" Sophia glared at a healthy looking Sirius Black who was jumping up and down and pacing wildy, desperately trying to leave and help his Godson. He owed it to him, to James and Lily, and it was about time he met him.

Sirius had been rescued by a beautiful lady (who had an Animagus of Filch's cat and watched and protected the school in secret. She had prevented a few disasters that nobody knew about, though she was limited to avoid suspicion).

Sirius had been brought to the Temple in Egypt, and had been shocked to see another beautiful woman like Sophia. He was extra sensitive to those simple things because of his time in Azkaban. He had been out for a few years already, a mysterious person had helped him escape, but he had been on his own and trying to survive for some time. He had felt ashamed and did want to go to Harry as a guilty and broken man who was traumatized from Azkaban.

Now Sirius had reason to go help Harry, but Sophia was trying to convince him otherwise with logic! Who needed logic in a time like this, Harry had been attacked and needed help!

"You are going to get thrown back in jail if you go there. We are helping him right now, but if you go back you will never see Harry or get to help him!"

Her words did finally sink in and his head dropped in defeat, as he sat down on the plush couch of the large common room in the temple. Sirius was not at all stuck here in the temple (though the temple was huge). He could leave whenever he wanted, and he would put on glamour and wear glamour rings and such. They were extremely expensive but the temple covered the costs. After all Harry Potter had found his place in almost all the hearts of the Temple's citizens and members.

Harry seemed to have a way about him, polite and shy at times, but with a confidence, focus and energy that drove those around him to work harder. He also seemed to have a predestined leadership aura about him, and even though it took a while for him to see it, he had a commanding presence when he was in a battle situation or in a situation where leadership was needed.

"Sirius, I'll make a deal with you. Harry knows you are innocent already, he figured it out a while back. He wants to meet you but something is holding him back, bothering him. I do not know what it is, but we are going to find out. You will meet with him in a couple days, but you must remain here until then. Don't go running off to him!"

Sirius nodded excitedly, his tongue almost wagging out of his mouth like a dog. "yes, yes, of course!"

Sophia smirked and thought to herself, 'Just like a dog, I've never seen such a fitting Animagus'

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A/N: I made this chapter much faster then normal. Please let me know the mistakes, I'll try and fix them when I go over it. Should still be good hopefully =]

Also, I'll try and increase the chapter length again, no promises but I'll try.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N:** This chapter was made partially when I was just sleep deprived, and partially while I am sick. Please take that into account and help me with any typos/mistakes. Thanks! =]

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The large empty chamber stank of mold and mildew and the air was chilly and damp; the kind of atmosphere that leaked into your bones. A large group of dark figures kneeled in a large circle around a tall hooded figure standing tall and arrogant.

Lord Voldemort surveyed his troops with a look of contempt and annoyance. His group was strong; of that he was confident. However they were not best, and some of them were only valuable for numbers or ministry infiltration and the like.

His mind refocused on the task at hand and a bubble of rage filled his gut at the thought of any of these minions betrayed him or were cowards in any way. He was Lord Voldemort and would have nothing less than full obedience and loyalty.

_"If you get captured do not be bothered. You will be freed if you are loyal. Let's have fun with these dirty Muggles"_

Voldemort's voice rang out clear and sharp and with only a hint of a hiss. The large group of Death Eaters seem to perk at once as he spoke, sending a chill of power and control through Voldemort. His blood colored eyes soaked up everyone's attention and his eyes seemed to read all their thoughts and real convictions.

Voldemort raised a pale hand holding his wand and he disappeared with a hiss. The fifty or so attackers quickly followed their lord and master to a location where there would be no resistance and plenty of targets.

It was a small town somewhere in Scotland and when the group appeared to find Voldemort himself was joining them, their energy grew and their excitement also lifted because they felt invincible with their lord present. The rest of the Death Eaters; around 300 mostly inexperienced Death Eaters arrived led by a giggling woman with curly black hair, waxy skin and eyes that held complete madness.

"Let's teach these Muggles a thing or two shall we?" a cackling girly voice announced. Bellatrix flew forward and shot a killing curse followed by an exploding curse. The spells that followed from the group behind quickly turned the town into a wreckage of broken buildings and cars. It resembled a very bad earthquake, and the screaming of innocents filled the air as the attack progressed.

It was only when two Death Eaters had gaping holes in their chests after a loud noise did the Death Eaters realize they had a problem. A few more loud noises later and another two Death Eaters dropped with large wounds on their bodies, beyond healing.

Voldemort's face darkened and recognition filled his dark demon eyes. He had been in the Muggle world for most of his childhood and he knew what guns and bullets were. He also knew he was the only one, besides Bella and a couple others who could defend against the bullets. Transfiguration worked but how long would that work?

Voldemort signaled with his wand and the Death Eaters disapparated away, leaving two more Death Eater bodies dead. Voldemort cast the Dark Mark in the sky and cast fiendfire in a wide circle before preparing to leave.

The sound of at least ten people apparating in signaled the arrival of his biggest resistance enemy. A group in cloaks with strange designs as a trim, their gear on their wrists and their aura suggested funding and power.

_"Stupid temples, you will regret coming here! You will be cut away like the mould that you are!" _ Voldemort hissed at them his eyes dancing with rage. He knew who these people were. They had been a far smaller problem in the first war. He had learned about the temples when he was in Hogwarts when he had been invited to join one of them. He had refused at first due to the temple's position on Muggles, Magical Creatures and Mudbloods.

Later on he had tried to join again and they had sent him away, claiming he needed to prove he was not a dark lord by doing something positive and productive. He gave them that much, they were lead by intelligent people who had seen how dark he was even then.

Voldemort had tried getting a position in Hogwarts as a DADA teacher but the old fool Dumbledore had refused.

Voldemort had not been so convinced of the Temple's powers, but now he was much more weary. Each member was trained well, powerful in their own ways and very confident. They also worked so well together it was hard to get a hit in or take on down without the others helping or even healing if possible.

Voldemort had a secret group of elite Death Eaters, Death Eaters he had personally altered and changed, creating the perfect weapons. They looked different, wore different clothes and masks and were much more powerful. He had a spy inside the Temples, a person who ran the group for Voldemort, since Voldemort did not want anyone of too much power near him. He needed his followers to see him as a godly figure, he did not need any more Bellatrix's around minimizing his power a bit.

His last attack on the temples was a disaster, and only two of his attackers had escaped. They had done tremendous damage to the temple in the mountains, but Voldemort was not pleased with the results even so.

Voldemort compared the Order of The Phoenix to the Temples and realized that the only thing that gave Dumbledore's little tea party group any power was Dumbledore himself. While the Temples held many different powerful members, plenty of money by the look of it, as well as resources and allies as well.

'It will not matter for long. Once Todd does his job I can start with my next plans. Once Todd kills Harry Potter and that old bat Mcgonagall he will become a liability. I do not need someone so powerful around, and I do not require a heir. I have the perfect idea on how to get rid of him, and make it a public lesson, Lord Voldemort does not accept failure, even from someone powerful and his own relative'

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Harry dropped the book on his bed and tried once more to go to sleep. As soon as his eyes closed the nightmares flared to his brain, filling his mind with pain and sorrow.

Harry sighed and hissed in disgust. He sat up and rolled over into a sitting position on his bed. Shivering slightly at the chill of the dorm room (Ron had opened the windows, and had insisted on keeping them open when he found out Harry hated it, even though he had to hide under his own blankets)

Harry dropped to the floor and rolled up his sleeves, placing his body in the position of a pushup. His eyes stared blankly ahead as he went up and down in a pushup, his arms moving of their own volition. He was not counting the sets and his mind was almost asleep as he focused on the rhythm of his arms in motion, of his breathing which was slowly increasing in speed and effort. He listened to his heartbeat, focusing on every beautiful thump of the blood pumping, his heart giving and sustaining his life.

Harry stopped after quite a bit of pushups and started stretching, motions that were now almost second nature to him. He waved his hand and with wandless magic he conjured a punching bag that floated softly in front of him. Harry had silencing charms over his bed area all the time now, so he went all out as he smashed his fists, knees, legs, and even his head into the bag. He was skilled at Martial Arts and even his head butt could do some nasty stuff if the target was close.

Harry punched for a while, willing his energy to leave him. He punched and kicked, trying to let his energy and alertness into the bag. However it did not help at all and when he finally vanished the punching bag he found his body tired but his mind strangely alert.

Suddenly his instincts and training kicked in as he sensed someone behind him. Harry spun around and his hand shot to the person's throat, the other going around and in a spin Harry had the person in a headlock, his arm locking the other arm that was around the person. Harry's foot secured the back and legs.

A grunt of pain and shock followed the speedy take down and for a second Harry was in interrogate and kill mode, until he recognized Neville Longbottom. Harry quickly got off of him and helped him up, his senses and training also confirming that Neville was not a threat and was not in a threatening stance or aura currently.

Neville's face was not upset, quite the opposite. Neville's face was split into a huge grin and he opened his mouth to let Harry know he was amazed. Before he could they heard a grunt from behind them, and standing next to their beds were the rest of his dorm mates. They were looking at him with a mixture of shock, fear, respect and even some genuine impressed looks.

Ron looked like a fish out of the water who was now facing a giant hungry tiger on top of that. Ron's face was pale and his eyes were wide. What Harry did not know was that he usually pushed a huge amount of magic into his image, making him look powerful, frightening and deadly. However because he was tired and barely in control or alert; he had pushed out too much and he had been flowing with a green light.

To his dorm mates he had been quite a sight and Harry was not happy about it. He frowned at them and went back to his bed, closing his curtains which he had opened to have more space to work out. He was not happy to do it, but he applied over a dozen spells to clean himself, more effective than an average shower, but not nearly as satisfying.

Harry finally dropped his head on the pillow and for the first time in a long time; he was asleep in seconds. His dreams were not good or bad, but hazy images and he slept rather good for once.

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**A/N:** There is a reason for this chapter, and I also did not want to keep you waiting longer, so this chapter is shorter and less complex; a part 1 o sorts to next chapter. Please have patience I am rather sick today, I hate being sick and also sleep deprived. Please review =]


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and I am not making any profit from this story.

**A/N:** Sorry for the long wait. Some of those odd things I added will be explained in this chapter, hopefully to your satisfaction.

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Umbridge lifted her ugly mouth in an evil grin as she waved her wand; hanging a sign up on the wall near many others. Another decree, but this one was so good she had to put it up herself.

Proclamation number 29 already. Since this Harry Potter had come to school, she had passed many more decrees than she would have otherwise. He seemed to command presence, and she would never admit it but he scared her. When his green eyes met hers she felt like he could see right through her soul and his green eyes seemed to burn through her.

This decree would hit two birds with one stone. She had needed to get permission from the Minister, but finally she had permission to get rid of Dumbledore. Draco Malfoy had approached her yesterday and had given her amazing news. He had a memory of Dumbledore attacking a student, apparently as self defense. However the memory could be clipped so only the spell Dumbledore cast would be seen.

She had not seen the memory, but she doubted Draco would even think of thinking about lying to her. She grinned again as she prepared to take over in her mind. She would immediately expel Harry Potter and some of his little friends.

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Harry groaned as he wrote a letter while listening to the Weasley twins ramble on and on about something he had asked them. He only needed a small short question answered, but apparently he had touched a chord that turned them into excited babbling machines. What was worse was their switching of who was speaking, making it even more annoying and harder to keep up.

This plan of his was not going according to his original plan. He needed to get rid of Umbridge, ruin her future and hopefully give her a direct trip to Azkaban. Unfortunately he could not just do any of that easily, and he also had to make it embarrassing and funny as well.

He had been focusing on this project for over a week now, sending letters to all his associates and preparing for the big strike. His original plan had been to get detention again, record her giving him the blood quill and making him write "I will not disrespect my betters" over and over again. She had done it once to him and his self control and superb healing skills had allowed him to not react right then and there.

Harry had healed nine other people's hands by now. He had interviewed most of them and recorder it, willing to use it as proof if needed. He would not use their names and he would change their voices, but with a truth spell meant for memories alone, he would be able to use it.

Now though he had a different plan and so far it was working flawlessly. This plan would do even more than just getting rid of one wicked witch, it would get rid of multiple people and accomplish a lot in one go.

"Guys I appreciate your help but I need to go talk to…a friend" his mouth tasted sour and gross at the word friend but he got up and waved to the twins as he slung his back pack over his shoulder and walked away.

"You're welcome-"

"Harrykins, anytime-"

"you need us just-"

"call and we are at your service"

Harry had made good friends with the twins and he laughed lightly as he made his way to the dungeons.

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Hermione took in big gulping breaths as she watched a scene that she never would have thought she would ever see. Harry Potter was talking to Draco Malfoy three feet away from her. She was hidden behind a statue in the hall and she could not help but gape as they spoke.

She could not hear their words, and their faces were blurred slightly with magic but she saw Draco smile and Harry grinned in an evil smile as well. He seemed extremely excited about something and she was sure Draco was involved.

She had not even meant to see this. She had been walking down the wall when she had spotted them approach, Harry grabbing Draco by the shoulder in what looked at first to be a commanding and rough way. However with the friendly looking conversation that followed, she guessed they were just being boys.

Using an extremely dangerous spell she sunk into the wall and found herself in a hallway with Luna Lovegood staring up at the ceiling. Hermione swore she saw a small puff of green smoke drift upwards near where Luna seemed to be looking, but she ignored it blaming it on her exhaustion at using that spell.

She had never used the spell before and apparently it was one of the hardest spells to cast. It required so much magic and concentration that many died or got stuck in a phantom ghost state for long periods of time, if not forever. Or parts of their limbs would get stuck in the wall.

It took a few more minutes as she stalked up to her dorm before the exhaustion truly hit and she collapsed in a dead faint. She barely felt a strong pair of arms catch her, barely recognized Harry's bright green eyes as she fell.

She would wake up 48 hours later with a migraine and a deep ache. She used so much of her magic that she had actually tapped into a reserve that most Wizards and Witches did not have a link to or would never find. It was a connection to something bigger and greater. A well of magic so vast and powerful that it would have taken millions of years of heavy magic use to run out of.

There was a group that knew all about this vast reservoir and they were called The Eyes Of Power, the same group who almost helped Sirius Black. They were currently on high alert because someone else had managed to tap that stream.

It was so incredibly hard to tap into it and use it, it was mostly just used as a last resort. Only one or two people ever tapped into it regularly, and even they only used a bit at a time.

Hermione was lucky that she was connected deep inside. Otherwise she would have died, and she blamed the incident on Harry Potter. He was a traitor, a boy who dug his way into her heart but had no heart of his own.

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The sound of running water filled his ears. A gurgling stream lay at his feet and its soft blue water was cold and fresh to his scalded body.

The sounds of birds chirping their pretty melody and the window lightly playing whispers in the trees and branches magnified his sense of serenity. The earth was soft and cool beneath his toes as he soaked his hands in the water.

He took a long draw of fresh crisp morning air and let it out slowly, calming his mind and letting nature fill his senses.

His sweaty skin and burning face gave the air a healing feeling and his body slowly cooled down and relaxed. The loud hammering of a sledge hammer smashing his skull dulled and muted down to a quiet knocking and his burning eyes lost a measure of stinging and watering.

Liam sat by the bubbling stream for a few more moments and waited. It was only a few minutes later that Chloe arrived, silent and fluid as a feline. He would have believed she had been standing there the whole time and he only noticed her, that's how good at stealth she was. He realized she was there by her soft and musical voice announcing, "Hello Liam"

He turned his face upwards and around and looked into the beautiful women that had captured so many hearts before his. She was a stunning women with long honey blonde hair that fell in waves down her back. She had a very fit and stunning body with creamy skin and a flawless face. Golden eyes met his own and he felt his heart melt further.

He knew how much she hated the attention she received from guys. It was one thing to be appreciated, but she had everything going for her, including a very powerful and vast magical core which she could not fully control. Because of that some magic constantly leaked out and added to her allure.

She was the one who had taken on the Death Eaters who had attacked the temple and she had been injured when she had jumped in the way of a curse that was meant for a younger temple member who had frozen in shock.

"Shall we get down to business?" she asked him quieter now.

Liam nodded and pulled out a scroll with a purple ribbon holding the yellowing parchment rolled up. She lightly took it from him with her slender hands and waved one hand over the scroll. Liam noticed she had red finger nail polish on her finger nails and grinned. She was a regular human being and it helped that she did things like that, making it easier to see her for who she was, who he knew her to be.

Liam ran a hand through his short white blonde hair and watched as she used wandless magic to open the seal. His dark brown eyes widened as he vaguely noticed the outline of magic on her hands, she had used quiet a bit for such a simple spell.

The seal rolled off with the hand wave and the scroll unrolled. Chloe gestured to Liam and he groaned as he got up and stretched. His whole body hurt again when he got up but he did feel much better now.

The scroll was filled with strange runes, but Liam and Chloe read them easily. Both their eyes widened as they read the summons. "We are summoned for an emergency meeting huh?" Liam asked mostly to himself. Since Liam was not even a main member of The Eye of Power, he was almost never invited to anything important. Chloe was a member and she was probably the only one who could refuse to go and not get into huge trouble.

Chloe had something that she used as leverage on two of the three leaders of the group. Liam suspected it was a very evil magical object called a Horcrux, that she had them with her and was not afraid to destroy them. He doubted they made more than one, he remembered seeing the leader after rumors had speculated he had just made a Horcrux. He was a very large man with ugly scars all over his body, but killing an innocent and making a Horcrux seemed to destroy the man on the inside.

The other leader was a mystery, always cloaked and so disguised and masked nobody was even sure of the gender of the leader. Just a big black blue, a vague shape constantly with a robotic masked voice.

Either way the summons was very weird and not protocol so Liam assumed whatever the news, it was big news. Not a new recruit or someone else who had found their connection, unless this someone was a very important person or someone with huge potential. Even then Liam was not so sure.

"What do you think is going on?" Liam asked Chloe, a tinge of worry lacing his words.

Chloe shrugged and answered, "I do not know, but I suspect Magic and that stupid cat lady are involved somehow. Always causing trouble those two."

Liam never grew less shocked and surprised when she spoke like she did about Magic. He knew she hated her rival that women who was a cat spy in Hogwarts. However, to speak of "the Great Source" like that was crazy.

"Only you Chloe, only you" Liam told Chloe.

Chloe's light tinkling laugh filled Liam's ears as he turned on the spot from the random area of a rain forest and apparated to the base of The Eyes of Power.

He was not looking forward to what was coming and after spending hours near lava deep in a mountain waiting to receive the stupid scroll, his anger of these control freaks rose in the pit of his stomach. 'If these guys were not actually good for me and my beliefs, I swear I would hex them silly, though probably die in the process' He continued grumbling in his mind when he arrived in his destination, but Chloe had a mask of a small smile on her face.

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**A/N:** I need to get back into the writing spirit, and this chapter is kind of packed so it's not so long. I also write much better with shorter chapters because it's easier to review and fix, and I have time to think and use bigger words and hopefully better writing.

If you do not like something, please tell me, I'm honestly very open to suggestion and I would love to hear constructive criticism. Thanks to the reviewer who wrote those spelling/grammar fixes, I'll fix it when I can.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter, and I make no profit from the story.

**A/N**: Enjoy and please read the A/N at the end.

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Harry Potter ran faster than he had ever run in his life. His breathing rattled through his lungs and his breath came out in heavy puffs as he sped around the grounds of Hogwarts on a very early Saturday morning.

His eyes forward and his jaw set Harry pushed his burning muscles, ignored his bones aching from the pounding he was giving them, his heart hammering and begging him to slow down; to give it more oxygen.

Harry's vision was filled with memories and fiction alike. An image of his friend Kyle hit by a green curse, an accusing look in his eyes. Harry was stuck unable to move like in most of his nightmares.

His vision swam as a different part of the nightmare surfaced. Hermione Granger running in front of him in a blur of speed and running into a very bright orange spell that Harry did not recognize. She turned back to look at him and her eyes reflected blame and anger.

Harry kept running and continued pushing his magic into his regular energy giving him a very dangerous boost. The boost would give him the energy to run but would not compensate for Harry's body and heart rate, nor his lack of being able to physically run at such incredible speeds.

Harry's legs were now screaming in pain, his muscles barely holding together and fighting to sprain or rip in a very bad way.

Harry did not care and barely noticed, he just kept running around in large looping circles. When the next memory surfaced he shot into the forbidden forest, crashing through the brush and thickening trees with a determined and crazy pace.

Harry's head filled with an image of a women on a large stone table. She had no visible signs of being restrained, but her hands and feet were unnaturally still while her body was moving quiet a bit. The women's eyes were wide and dilated with fear and horror.

Harry watched helplessly and she cried in a muted voice "Help! Please, help! Someone help me!"

Her cries alone struck Harry deep, like a knife through his gut, but when she looked directly into his eyes and began crying and begging him to help, a small measure of hope filled her eyes Harry felt a part of him dying at being unable to do so.

He was not sure what he had these nightmares, or why they seemed so real but it bothered him greatly. He always saw it through his own eyes, and he had even seen a mirror in one of the nightmares, his green eyes and messy black hair reflected on them.

In some dreams he had minimal control, but never even close enough to help or do anything useful or productive.

Harry's heart began hurting and his body began to numb, his vision narrowed as spots flickered across his sight. The spots seemed to grow and multiply and Harry stumbled as his body collapsed. He was still awake even as his brain began to pass out, the magic he had used for energy still pulsed strong in his veins, keeping him in a very eerie and strange stage, not awake but not quite awake either.

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It was a beautiful view the horizon was full of hazy orange swirls mixed with golden curves and tones and lightly coated with red and pink. The air was warm and relaxing and the a soft breeze kept the humidity at bay. The sun slowly set behind the edge of vision and slowly the sky darkened as night chased away the daytime like it always had done.

Harry Potter stood atop a mountain as he basked in the sunset and welcomed the night. However as he watched something changed. A shift in the air and a subtle change beneath his feet. Harry stared as the stars which had been sparkling with startling light now dulled and darkened as if a dark cloak had drifted over and dimmed its rays.

He looked around and felt sick when the trees shook and morphed into giant snakes for leaves and branches on dark scaly trunks. Under his feet he heard a crunch when he shifted and he looked down, only to jump from shock at what he saw.

Thousands and thousands of skulls filled the mountain he stood on. He yelped in shock as he landed and ran as fast as he could off the mountain.

He heard a loud cackling laughter fill his ears and a voice hissed, "_Harry Potter, scared so easily…"_

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Filch was very scared. Filch never got scared. Filch was also angry. His cat was gone, his beloved cat who helped him more than anyone would know, who always seemed to know what he needed, where the pranksters were….at times like in the case of the Weasley Twins she did get lost a lot and always seemed to have trouble finding them. Maybe it was a trick of theres…

She was not usually away from him for longer than two days at a time, and she would come back a bit colder and less helpful. However she was very willing to go looking around the castle quickly and he would once again go into super "student hunting" mode.

It was six days now! Six days his beloved cat and the only life form he loved was gone for! Six painful and tortures days. He wondered how he had ever got so attached to the cat but he figured time and hunting evil children together gave them a strong connection.

Filch was monitoring the halls even more than ever. He now listened to Deloris Umbridge even more carefully and with much more energy. For some reason his precious cat hated Miss Umbridge with a passion, but now that she was not around he needed something to do, someone to give him distractions.

Filch was currently awake in his bed in his small room. The room was rather clean and cozy considering his personality. As he sat on his bed late in the night he thought of Mrs. Norris. How she had always been so intelligent and always seemed to understand him. She listened as he broke down to her explaining his childhood which he told nobody else. He cried to her about how the love of his life had died when he was seventeen and the method which it happened had driven him crazy. He had grown to hate everybody and soon took it out on kids. Whats worse was the fact that he had been at Hogwarts, had magic and had even been a slight prankster, or at least not a goody goody.

However it had been a cold night winter night at Hogwarts when the tragedy of four deaths occurred. The incident was covered up well because the killers were Purebloods of the "finest kind". Three Slythrins and one Gryffindor had snuck out of their dorms. The Gryffindor got along well with Slytherins. He was a Pureblood and had quickly made friends with the Slytherin boys, but mostly in secret.

Filch had snuck out to meet his love Sabrina when he saw the four students rush by laughing in a tone that had given Filch the chills.

He had followed them but they were moving far too fast and he was trying to be subtle not to get caught. When he had rounded the bend on the third floor corridor he saw a scene that filled his nightmares every single night, and helped to fuel his fury at catching kids out of bounds.

There was Sabrina held partially by the Gryffindor. She was limp and her face was blank and look clammy and sweaty. He had only been thirty seconds behind and he was so shocked he froze completely, his heart stopping for a few heart beats.

The four students who had somehow killed Sabrina looked shocked and panicked. Filch had pulled his wand and fired a very powerful orange curse. The curse had struck all four of them and they had immediately passed out.

He had ignored the fallen murderers and rushed over to Sabrina. They had been together since first year, at first as best friends and quickly it became more and more. By third year they were already known to be a very close couple.

He stared at her face which still held a fading tinge of red in her cheeks. Her eyes were closed but he could see outlines that were also blurring, outlines of pain.

Filch stood up and began enchanting a curse. The curse flew out of his lips, a piece of dark magic his Dad had taught him. His dad was a sick twisted bastard himself but he had done a lot of Black magic that Filch remembered as a bad but useful memory.

The spell released a very deadly spell that was meant to curse a building. Hogwarts was a powerful being from the magic used in its walls over time as well as the founders magic. It isolated the magic to the third floor and layered the floor with massive amounts of magic. The floor was not dangerous and in a way the safest place in Hogwarts. However filch was unable to complete the spell without repercussions.

Filch lost his ability to use magic and was kicked out of Hogwarts. Eventually rehired and then heavily supported by Dumbledore.

His cat was a miracle to him. When she had arrived suddenly on his door step he had instantly felt a connection with the animal. He needed her, needed his companion that should have been much older than it looked, his companion that had comforted him when he woke up crying from the same reoccurring nightmare.

The four students had never recovered, and only of the Slytherins, probably the worst of the four had eventually recovered only to be killed by James Potter.

He sniffed and wondered what would have happened if anyone had seen him cry any of the times he had cried over the years. He was thankful that he had not been seen, he would have been shamed and his image of mean, dirty and evil caretaker would have been shaken slightly.

Filch looked at the mirror and wondered how he could have ever looked like this. He used to be handsome with a pleasant smile. Now he looked dirty, scruffy and was covered in scars, his hair was a mess….

He almost screamed for joy when he heard a purr from behind him. He turned around and stared into the eyes of his cat. He knew it was his cat but something was different about her. There lacked a spark, an Intelligence and playfulness in those eyes.

He also noticed how this cat did not mind his look and unfortunate smell. Mrs Norris had always looked away in a huff when he had not taken a shower and often he had made himself look dirty but stayed clean. This cat was a clueless animal but he was too happy to see his only companion to worry or think on it too far.

On his small desk there lay a parchment with pink fancy loopy letters, "To my Friend and companion"

Filch took the letter with shaking hands and opened it slowly. A very long letter fell out and he picked up and sat down on his bed. His gut was telling him that the letter would explain why Mrs. Norris was different, and possibly much more.

He read the letter slowly and as he read his face switched from confused, shocked, sad, outraged, amazed and finally a look that signified a big change coming along in the old caretakers life.

He also had a job he needed to do. The Filch that had terrorized children for years, who had made it very difficult to sneak out and misbehave was now very quickly becoming a different person. Filch shook the envelope looking for something. A ring fell out made of deep ruby and a purple glowing stone on top.

Filch gazed at the ring in awe and once again checked the end of the message. He picked up the ring with awe and slipped it on his wand hand's ring finger.

Filch's raspy and shocked voice whispered, "Lumos"

The dim room lit with a bright glow and Filch whooped for joy, a move that would have had anyone at Hogwarts except Dumbledore shocked still, then perhaps burst out laughing.

Filch looked into the mirror and careful thought back to his days in Hogwarts as a Wizard in school.

Twenty minutes later and with over fifty odd haircuts, colors and mistakes later, Filch looked so different, nobody would recognize him unless they looked carefully. He changed his clothes with a pair hidden deep in his wardrobe and cleaned his face, doing a simple spell to disillusion some scars on his face.

With the means to do the job well and looking like a new man, younger and much easier on the eyes Filch exited his living quarters with a strong and excited jump in his step.

* * *

**A/N**: Sorry it took so long. If you can beta, please message me. I cannot juggle everything so I desperately need someone to help with little things. If you can help more than just spelling and grammar, great, if you can just do that, great. I'm sorry this chapter is small, but there is way to much on my plate.

I really hope you review, it helps very much. Also check my profile for info, I update a lot.

BTW: I know this chapter was odd, but I liked my small idea last half of this chap, and Filch plays a small but important roll in a bit. THERE WILL BE A POINT AND REASON FOR ALL THIS, "TUNE IN"


	16. Chapter 16: Part 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N**: This chapter and the next is very important.

* * *

"…not happening...not going to let…no way…"

The voices filtered slowly and slurred into his mind.

"..Granger…have no choice…"

The voices gained tone and volume. A third voice followed the second voice.

"…leave or…Miss Granger you…don't cross with…"

The voices finally strengthened and Harry finally recognized the voices as Hermione Granger's, Todd Gaunt's and Madame Pomfrey.

Harry remained very still and used his training to listen carefully and reach out with his senses and magic to find out what was happening. Harry was shocked when he could not feel his magic at all. He felt a void, a strange cold where he usually felt his magic thrumming.

Harry continued listening but was not very distracted with the new revelation. _'what the bloody hell happened? Why can't I feel my magic?'_

"I don't care! I don't care what you or anyone says! Harry Potter is my friend and I am not going to lose that, not to you or to anyone else!"

Her voice reflected her own shock at her own strong words, and Harry's training gave him a strange insight into her tone an words. _'She is angry at me'_

He had never quite had a strong friendship with her. Unfortunately it had been a lot of none-verbal exchanges, most of which involved Harry chasing after her trying to get her to see they could be closer, and Hermione refusing to fall for it.

He never respected her more now, when she stood up for him, whatever was happening.

Todd Gaunt's voice spoke softly and in a very deadly tone, "Again Granger, you have no choice in the matter. I know where this hospital is and you do not. If you can find this hospital on your own or find someone who can…"

Harry heard Hermione growl and he could also feel her pulling out her wand. Madam Pomfrey obviously intervened because a second later there were two sets of yelps and madam Pomfrey hissed, "Neither of you are making this easier on me, and this is not helping! I have a patient and you are now in the way of his treatment. Now Todd, you will bring me and my patient to the Hospital in Romania that you know, or get out of my way!"

She took a deep breath and in a resigned tone said, "Look Hermione dear I know you want to help but Todd is a good lad and he knows of a hospital that could help best. Dumbledore has mentioned it so I trust it."

Todd was radiating pure joy and Harry tensed, preparing to take action. Worst case scenario he could fight with Martial Arts he had learned, but scanning his body with his senses he found his body weak. It would be a tough fight with Harry holding none of the cards.

Harry felt a gentle hand on his forehead and instantly knew it was Hermione. He was shocked in that instant how he knew who it was but all his instincts and senses told him it was her.

**"****You will not be doing any such thing!" **

The voice boomed out loud and clear and held the power of a thousand spells.

Harry opened his eyes and sat up quickly, just in time to see Dumbledore enter the room looking majestic and powerful his deep blue robes swirling around his frame. His hair weaved back and forth around his face which was dark and promised fatal retribution.

Todd Gaunt froze as a bright yellow light hit him so fast Harry did not even see him move to cast the spell. Todd stood stiff and began to slowly rise from the ground, his face held pure shock and confusion.

"Harry my boy, you are in good hands. This child will suffer for his crimes."

Harry nodded gratefully and nodded to Hermione in thanks. He could not explain why but seeing what he had just seen wiped all his energy from him. He felt hungrier than he have ever felt and mumbled "I am so hungry" as his eyes began closing.

Madam Pomfrey gasped and cursed then, "Merlin's beard I forgot to give you lunch! I have never once forgotten!"

The last thing Harry saw was Hermione's face full of worry, speaking to Dumbledore who was standing with a frozen floating Todd Gaunt in the area behind him, apparently forgotten for the moment.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

That Night, Location: Unknown

She was so warm and comfortable. She never wanted to move, to think, to be or do anything at all. The peace and comfort that settled over her was overwhelming yet felt so incredibly good.

She wanted to ignore the groaning next to her, wanted to let it flow through her like a fresh crystal wave of water over her on a beach.

The groaning grew in volume and when the groan grew to a yell and then a cry of pain, Hermione Granger could no longer ignore it.

She opened her eyes to a very strange sight; Mist. There was nothing around her but mist and more mist, swirling gently in all directions. She looked down and gasped when she found herself naked. Suddenly there was a beautiful dress floating gently in front of her. She gratefully took it but before she could grab it, she was suddenly wearing it.

She wondered where the groaning and crying was, it had slowed to deep breaths, haggard but less intense. As she wondered the crying started up again and the mist cleared a path in front of her to someone she did not expect to see.

Harry Potter lay curled up in a ball on the floor. He had a light layer of mist on his body, like the mist was protecting his naked state. Harry's face was twisted in pain and his eyes were closed shut very tight, tears leaking from the corners of his eyes and down his face, dripping to the ground where it turned to mist and rolled away.

Hermione walked over slowly and placed on a hand on his cheek gently, reaching up and softly wiping a tears from his feverish cheeks.

"I wonder why you are crying Harry Potter. What are you dreaming? Is it part of your mysterious past?"

Suddenly the mist was gone and she gasped when she was in a massive flat plane, grass for hundreds of miles and nothing taller than a few shrubs for miles and miles.

It was dark and the grass moved back and forth gently, as if moving to a silent song, a rhythm that swept among the millions of blades of grass, making them one.

She looked up and was amazed to stars so deep and rich, bright and clear like billions of tiny crystals.

She looked to her side and Harry Potter stood up from the fetal position he held in dirt. He looked around in quick nervous darts of his head before looking at Hermione.

"No, please don't die. Listen to what I say, please I beg you!" His voice was dull even though his face was desperate and hopeful.

"What am I saying, you never listen. None of you ever listen. I have to watch you and everyone else die over and over again"

Hermione was shocked but could not react because a deep voice spoke over her thoughts.

**_"_****_Come forth to my humble abode. Follow my loyal companion to me. I have a lot to discuss with you"_**

A cloaked and hooded figure appeared in front of them, head bowed slightly. Harry jumped back nervously and held his palms out flat towards the hooded figure. The controlled movement and positioning of the hands told Hermione he was not merely showing a peaceful; placid gesture.

"Peace I am not and have never been a part of your nightmares." There was a hint of humor in the words, like a hidden joke but Harry only cared about the fact that A) This was a better beginning than he had ever really had, and B) He had never had a nightmare that was anything like this.

Harry nodded and Hermione also nodded when Harry did. The man quickly began walking forward and Harry walked behind the mystery man, Hermione to his right and slightly behind him. Hermione noticed Harry shift and move slightly if she tried to move to close to the mystery man.

'He is trying to protect me. What the bloody fucking hell happened to Harry Potter?!'

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Snape was having a good day, and not the usual good days when he caused the most mystery but secretly felt bitter about everything in his life.

Snape had a dream the night before, a dream that would be seared in his brain forever. He did not remember certain details but he remembered someone speaking to him, a women, a women he loved more than anyone else. A women he felt slap him in the face hundreds of times in his dream, going over his life in quick fast forward. Everytime she saw him bully someone she slapped him, everytime she saw him bully Harry she would also give him this dirty look and trade a word of disappointment.

Each slap hurt more than anything because it came from someone he loved. He could not stand to see the look of disappointment, of anger and bitterness that came from her when she looked at him.

Then she had looked into his eyes and whispered, _"Severus you have gone far off the path. You were once a good friend but you let your emotions and anger suffocate you. When I married James, ever before that you allowed your love for me to distort your mind. You took my memory and made it the reason for your crimes and hate. Release yourself from these bonds severus, allow yourself to live. Allow yourself to appreciate the privilege of teaching the younger generations to become great and successful"_

She glanced at his hair and laughed a wide hearty laugh, her bright green eyes shining and her red hair flying over her shoulders.

_"__If you really love me, you will take this advice. Shower and look civilized. Smile more often. Be kind to others, or at least civilized and polite. Above all else, become a good teacher. Potions is important and you are doing very serious damage"_

Snape never felt better when he woke up. He could not understand how he knew it, but he was sure the dream was real. He could not remember exactly what happened between certain parts, for example he swore he saw James somewhere in the dream, but the details failed him now.

'Not today but tomorrow, when all this sits and sinks, I will change' he thought to himself as he lunch. And he meant it.

Many students were in for a shock when Snape suddenly smiled a wide smile, his mind holding the image of Lily Potter looking hopeful at him that he would change.

The smile did not last long, but was a start and would hopefully be the first of many.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The two teans followed the cloaked figure for a while before the man slowed and stopped. "Lets take a moments break here" he said, his voice held a strange growl to it, obviously a masked tone to block the real voice from filtering through.

Harry and Hermione nodded and were about to sit on the ground when three chairs appeared at the wave of the man's hand.

They sat for a couple minutes until the man stood and without a word continued walking.

Harry and Hermione followed the man as they continued walking. Harry and Hermione both noticed the man had a light limp now. Harry and Hermione both felt a tiny prickling in their minds now, Hermione more so than Harry's for some reason. Both of their brains were trying hard to remember something.

Just when Hermione felt like she might have an idea coming to her mind, on the tip of the tongue they arrived at the location.

It seemed like the large mansion made purely of wood appeared out of nowhere. Their walk had been flat for miles and the mansion was not at all on the horizon any of the time.

They walked to a large gate that was made of giant logs put together. A small doorway made of cut logs held the only entrance.

The cloaked figure walked over to the door and lifted both his arms over his head and walked through the thick wooden door like it was not really there.

He gestured for them to do the same from the other side. Hermione and Harry both lifted their arms all the way up to the sky, palms wide like he had done and cautiously walked through. It was one thing for Platform 1 ¾ but this was a bit different.

The two of them were led up a very plain looking path with dirt everywhere up until the mansion. Right outside the door to the wooden mansion there were two dead trees. They were swaying softly and Harry got a chill when he thought he saw a small yellow eye reveal itself on the left tree for a second, before bark covered it up like an eyelid.

Harry and Hermione were led into the mansion and they both welcomed the warm and inviting atmosphere.

Bright thick red carpet, warm colored walls with pictures of a family of five, two girls and a boy with happy and smiling parents.

With the furniture a deep mahogany and the space organized in a neat yet cozy layout they were put to ease.

A very old man sat in a very throne-like chair in the next room. His eyes were closed and Harry and Hermione got the feeling they were supposed to be quiet and wait for the old man to react. He was clearly awake because his fingertips were together and under his chin in a pensive look, and he sat in the chair with his back straight.

He had very little white hair on his head but his beard went down all the way to the floor and seemed to keep flowing along the ground on a raised mat all the way to the back of the room and out of sight.

"Harry Potter, Hermione Granger"

The voice was deep and touched a cord in both teens. It held a wisdom and depth but also experience and intelligence that made them both feel like he could convince them they were aliens and they would believe it.

The man opened his eyes and they were both mesmerized by deep dark purple eyes. There was irisis or pupils, just purple.

"I have a story to tell you to. I think you will want to sit down. Everything will be explained in time"

The man with a cloak stepped forward from behind them. The old man spoke in a very odd language that sounded very odd to the ears, a mixture of purring, growling, hissing and meowing. Hermione swore it was a language a cat would have if not for the ridiculous way that thought sounded, no pun intended.

'weirder things have happened' and she thought of the moment she learned there was magic.

* * *

**A/N**: This is part 1 of 2 just for this. I do not have the time to do in one, and I write better with smaller chapters so…

Please review, and thank you SO MUCH for 100 Favorites! I literally almost fell out of my chair when I saw it, and you made my weekend!


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter.

**A/N**: Enjoy =] (Sorry for the wait)

* * *

Part 2

_A very old man sat in a very throne-like chair in the next room. His eyes were closed and Harry and Hermione got the feeling they were supposed to be quiet and wait for the old man to react. He was clearly awake because his fingertips were together and under his chin in a pensive look, and he sat in the chair with his back straight._

_He had very little white hair on his head but his beard went down all the way to the floor and seemed to keep flowing along the ground on a raised mat all the way to the back of the room and out of sight._

_"__Harry Potter, Hermione Granger"_

_The voice was deep and touched a cord in both teens. It held a wisdom and depth but also experience and intelligence that made them both feel like he could convince them they were aliens and they would believe it._

_The man opened his eyes and they were both mesmerized by deep dark purple eyes. There were no irises or pupils, just purple. _

_"__I have a story to tell you to. I think you will want to sit down. Everything will be explained in time"_

Harry was shocked ever since this dream had started. He had just finished a horrible nightmare when the nightmare had faded to this and the Hermione of this dream changed the usual behavior of his dreams. She was far less occurring in his nightmares than others he knew and loved for much longer, but she had appeared enough that he was instantly aware of a change in personality.

Harry was currently staring into the dark purple eyes and felt a wave of fear enter his body. He could feel the man's power, so vast and lethal. He could sense the control the man had as well and the great knowledge that flowed through the eyes and broadcasted its waves in waves of magic. Harry realized that this man was in full control and he really did have the power to vanish both Hermione and himself from existence with just a thought.

"Allow me to start from the very beginning. What I tell you is important for the future of all magical kind. Remember my words well and clear, for this tale may dictate the future and reveal many a-secrets!"

"Once upon a time…" The story started in a very simplistic fashion . As the old man begin speaking Harry and Hermione felt and saw a different world. They were standing in a desert. Heat seamed to form a hot blanket on their skin and the sun seared its fiery rays upon all that it could see.

The sky was blue and for a moment the view was pretty in the eyes of Harry and Hermione. However it changed as a blur on the horizon slowly shifted and moved towards them. A large man wearing strange robes and a scarf with a head wrap walked into Harry and Hermione's view from behind them.

He looked nervous as he watched the horizon and the quickly moving dark shape that now resembled a cloud. It moved fast, faster than the teens expected. The man wrapped his scarf tighter around his head and pulled out a staff from inside his robes. The staff seemed to grow as the man pulled it out and when he finally pulled out the whole length, it was over 7 foot tall, a foot taller than its wielder.

The man lowered the staff to the ground three times and the staff sunk into the sand each time a fraction more than the last. The fourth time the man let go of the staff and it seemed to bury into the ground until it was only a fraction taller than the man.

He dropped onto his knee and waved his hands in a circle starting from the staff and moving counter clockwise. The staff moved with his hands but left behind staff as it moved. After a large sweep in a 360 degree angle, the man was inside a full circle wall of wood made from the staff. He ran his hands along the wood to check for holes and when he was satisfied he looked out towards the area he had seen the horizon of darkness growing.

Wind began to stir sand everywhere and the sky began to darken slightly. However the most amazing and bizarre sight met the teens eyes when they watched the growing darkness. It was now clearly a cloud, dark and swirling and moving incredibly fast towards them, blotting out the sun where it passed.

As it approached the teens realized it was storm, but made of sand. The sight of billions of particles of sand swirling together and descending on them was truly crazy. When they looked at the man that was clearly part of the story the old man was telling them they saw something odd. He was covered in a blue crackling energy and his hands were raised towards the inside of the circle he was in. However his eyes were glued to the coming storm and he seemed frozen; staring at the incoming storm with wide eyes and unmoving.

Then the storm descended and Harry and Hermione saw a bright blue flash of light, heard a scream of pain and suddenly everything went dark and the old man's voice which had been a background noise directing the vision now rose and fell more clearly as the tale unfolded.

They were on a very high mountain and the air was thin. Looking around the two teens saw only rock and mist all around them. They walked forward almost without their own free will and up to a man crouched on a large stone and looking at something that was hidden from the teens by the mist that obviously did not obstruct this man's vision.

"This is it" the man spoke in a soft and awed voiced as he stared. "This is the vision, the goal. We really are moving forward with this idea. It will change everything, but it should be great!"

Harry and Hermione both could see the pure joy on the man's face as he looked on and clearly knew his dreams and goals were coming true.

The man walked forward when he saw a tall beautiful women approach. She seemed very tense and Harry and Hermione noticed her bare sharp fangs and her cat-like eyes darted carefully and cautiously at the man as well as around.

A moment later that was surrounded by tense silence a giant of a man wearing a massive battleaxe strapped to his back and thick metal armor on his chest and legs. His eyes were large and beady like Hagrid's but held far superior intelligence.

They stood there for another minute before the next two people arrived, clearly expected. One was another beautiful women, pulsing eyes and also with fangs. She glared at everyone with far more fury than they responded with.

The last was clearly a man but was covered completely with thick black close. Despite the many layers he was very tanned and everyone there knew instinctively that this man lived in very hot temperatures.

They all waited for five more minutes, clearly waiting for someone but the second women who arrived snarled and spat, "Let us begin this meeting. I would rather die a death by a Goblin than be here another moment"

The man with the dark garbs turned his head and hissed dangerously, obviously taking offense at the women's words.

The women glared at him in response but moved very subtly a foot back and in a defensive position, a very brief flicker of fear on her face.

The first man then spoke with a bright smile and his words held only joy and extreme exhilaration.

"In the next five minutes I will give you enough evidence to convince you that we must come together into one group. If we are to survive at all we must be one. That is the truth and no amount of arguing or hating will help"

It was another two hours before they agreed and all there knew it would take time. Harry and Hermione did not hear the conversation they held, or at least the second it was over the entire conversation suddenly faded from their minds, in the back of their mind but they were met with a strange force when they tried to focus on it.

Just as the group was about to disperse the first women to arrive suddenly froze up. The others turned in time to see a silver rod emerge from the woman's chest right through the heart. Her eyes were wide and they saw the life leaving her.

She turned her head and looked into the other women's eyes even as the life began to leave her. In a raspy and barely audible voice she murmured, "Save our race. Please you.." and she dropped dead.

The killer was way gone by the time the spear was thrown but the giant man had lurched forward the second the spear made contact and had thundered in the direction of the thrown. Unfortunately magic allowed for easy escapes and the person had surprise as an advantage.

They all knew who it was though. They all knew who had killed the eight hundred year old being, and the Dumbledore's would forever be cursed because of it.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Sir. We have detected extremely high levels of heat around location Nova. It also has the signatures and trajectory and patterns of movements you asked for"

The voice crackled to life on a radio that had clearly been used very little recently. A balding man in a lab coat sleeping on his arm on a desk with more clutter than an average teenagers room was snoring loudly. He woke suddenly by the words on his radio and sat up with a start. The words he just heard on the radio confirmed his entire life's work. He had to make it to the scene before the ones the message was for arrived. He had to confirm this, he had to know if magic really existed. If it did he needed to kidnap one of the beasts who used it, study it and try to get it. If he could not get it he would study and conduct experiments until he found the source.

As he exited his small dingy home and drove off in a car 30 years in need of repair, he did not see a man walk up to the front door, wave a hand with a glinting ring over the door knob and walk in.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

Chloe stepped through a very solid looking door and entered a very dim cavern with a very low ceiling. At a somewhat tall height for a woman she had to duck slightly as she moved, feeling bad for Liam and other masked and cloaked men, most whom had to crouch to walk, and in one case almost bend over all the way to move forward.

She moved to a small doorway made of green wood and she crouched even lower to enter. What she found inside never ceased to amaze her.

A very large cavern held the most amazing life forms. Massive mushrooms glowed with brilliant glowing colors and towered high above the congregating group of people, mostly covered and concealed in hoods, cloaks, hats and scarves or magic concealment. Strange bat-like creatures soared high up in what looked like fluffy clouds. On a ledge extremely high above the ground, a very large eagle perched, its golden eyes piercing everyone who entered. It shifted uncomfortably and a large lion's torso came into view.

Small butterflies and strange little creatures flew by, and she almost giggled when she saw a strange looking back with banana yellow robes and a distant look on his face trying to gently catch an odd creature that resembled a butterfly but with the head of an elephant, trunk and all. He had a strange silvery mist making his face difficult to see, but he obviously had very little fear of being known because one only had to squint to see through the light mist.

Liam and Chloe were both higher ranking members called "Officers" but had very little power and had quite a bit of danger attached to it. Some of the most dangerous beings in the world stood congregated in front of her, many among the hundred or so members gathering around her would be easily classified as "Azkaban Material" but she liked to believed that most of the killing and horrors they had done were purely part of their missions and had not involved innocents. Most of them were unstable, some were genius manipulators worse than Dumbledore by a million miles, some as evil as Voldemort but with something tying them to sanity like money or goals.

Of course everyone knew what would happen to anyone who hurt an innocent or even attacked a none-innocent without a mission or provocation. It was a necessary evil and they had to be brutal and efficient if they wanted to win a war against people with no morals at all (or at least nothing forcing them to behave). Just a month ago two twins had been caught torturing a Death Eater in India. The Death Eater was evil but they had taken it too far. Chloe had been quite upset that they were punished, after all the man had done some very despicable things but the twins had tortured him for three days straight none-stop and they had gone too far, eventually killing him. The twins had been stripped of their magic and given in to law enforcement where they had a straight trip to Azkaban.

Chloe and Liam walked quickly to a very large mushroom shaped a lot like a loaf of bread with a low thick stem. Liam leapt onto the "stage" with ease despite the height actually being higher than three tall men.

Chloe moved slower and with much more elegance, but looked clumsy in comparison to the women who seemed to glide onto the mushroom in a blur, landing gently on the mushroom and her silvery hair waving gently as she stopped and surveyed the audience with glowing eyes.

The women was a spy at Hogwarts, or was a spy as a cat. She was also considered to be the best dueler in the world, having taught a certain loveable professor at Hogwarts the art of dueling. She was also one of the oldest beings in the world, speculation putting her on the top five. Her best known accomplishment was becoming a leader in this group of people. Unlike the other two leaders, she was loved, respected and powerful.

_"__Today you are gathered to discuss a matter that was not addressed in the meeting just days ago"_

About half the crowd had the flickering thoughts of shock at the comparison between the cat that they knew from Hogwarts that had chased them with a man bent on punishing them to this women. Most of them had only found out recently at the last meeting and only now did it hit them how different she was.

_"__Unfortunately I cannot trust this information to you in a normal fashion" _

Her eyes now held a silvery glint that reflected regret mixed with humor.

Suddenly mist sprung up in front of them, silvery and glistening like shards of glass. Chloe breathed in the mist, knowing she was supposed to.

_"__Don't worry, the mist is an enhanced magical potion made airborne with my magic. It will not have any long term affects and is mostly to allow me to enter the information in your mind and lock it there from other's eyes or minds"_

The air itself began to shift slightly and a sense of disassociation filled Chloe for a second before changing to a feeling of excitement.

Instead of a cloud of silver mist she now saw a cloud of brilliant multi colored stars, blinking happily at her. She looked around and could not help but stare in awe and slow ecstasy as the colors of the mushrooms, the musty smell of the room enveloping her and changing into a warm happy feeling inside her.

The others in the room were great big moving marshmallows, waving at her and smiling. She looked down and was ecstatic to find the ground covered in chocolate, flowing around her feet in dark creamy currents.

Her mind was dizzy and light headed and she felt a slight fish eye effect as she soaked in the enhanced sensations.

It was going to be a long trip but she rode the waves of strange illusions and incredible experiences, not at all concerned or preoccupied, nor did she noticed a very vast and powerful presence enter her mind and place a virus as well as information and an invincible block inside her head.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Harry and Hermione watched with interest as they appeared in a large chamber filled with wonders. The walls that seemed to rise high above them to a barely visible ceiling were covered in softly glowing moss. Small caves poked out ledges of stone leading into the unknown.

In front of them small glowing creatures flew around slowly and peacefully, but they were distracted when they saw five figures appear from thin air without a sound. They each held very powerful charms that hid their faces and made even their silhouette a bit hard to focus on.

"Over here" a voice whispered hurriedly and with barely veiled excitement.

The figures rushed over to a small mushroom shaped a lot like a load of bread. Around it grass grew in thick green stocks. The ground was also softer and unlike the rest of the ground that was mostly stone, the ground was dirt and held small flowers and shrubs along with the grass.

"Perfect" a feminine voice murmured softly stroking the odd mushroom.

Harry and Hermione watched as they suddenly began enchanting as one. The words that left their mouths were cold and disturbing in nature. Harry and Hermione could not understand the language, but Hermione seemed to get the gist of it because her mouth twisted in disgust and she watched with barely controlled rage.

The voices grew in volume and intensity as the strange language seemed to flow in waves from their mouths, like they were caught on a draft and tossed around, growing faint and then louder.

The figures began vibrating and the teens could see it was becoming a challenge to continue enchanting.

Suddenly there was a burst of purple flames and a very old man appeared in front of them. He looked up at Harry and Hermione and gave them a wink, his scary purple eyes boring into them.

Then he turned to the figures who were now shaking from what now looked like far too much ecstasy and he said, "Congratulations, you found my scroll and recipe. You now have unimaginable power. You may not know what the cost is though. With power comes danger and greed, as well as temptations beyond your wildest dreams. I warn you, if you abuse your power, if you use it in any way other than what you promised in your magic, I will end you and you will be worse off than before because your soul will be destroyed in the process"

Harry and Hermione looked on with confusion. A lot had just been said and done and it was not clear what happened, who the old man was, why they were seeing this and what this had to do with them.

Hermione felt a pressure behind her eyes and the world went dark. She saw Harry falling with her.

She snapped her eyes open and knew right away she was back in the home with the old man, Harry standing next to her looking as dazed as she felt.

"Harry and Hermione. What you have just seen is only a fraction of what I have to show you. However what you saw is important even for now. Magic gives us a very powerful advantage. Unlike none-magical beings, we truly have almost unlimited potential. We can bend laws that should not be possible to bend and then bend them even further. Even in magic we have laws and rules and yet even those can be manipulated and bypassed. Magic is a very powerful tool that can shape the world, change so much."

He sighed and a faraway look entered his eyes for a moment. It looked like he was reminiscing over old regrets because he said, "If I could, I would do what needs to be done myself. If I was able to, I would take the burden. However I cannot do so and someone needs to do something. When you are as old as I am you see the bigger picture and you can see patterns, events that are just over the horizon. Horrors, death, pain beyond all measure; that's what is coming"

He gave them each a scorching glance and his voice lowered, "If you are a coward and wish to dump the burden on someone else when you are very able to do it yourself, let me know. I will teleport your respective beds and you will forget all of this."

His eyes lightened when he saw the expressions on their faces. Both Harry and Hermione looked very determined and Harry said, "If people are going to die and there is going to be that much pain, I would never forgive myself if I did not try my hardest to save them"

The old man and Hermione both noticed the cold glint in Harry's eyes and deeper still a pain of failure, of regret and sadness from someone who felt that they could not save the ones they loved.

A hologram popped up in front of them at the wave of the man's hand. The children Harry had saved and taken care of were laughing and running across the screen, their laughter so catchy and bubbly. "Harry Potter. You can save people and you will save people if you wish too. You cannot control everything, and you cannot save everyone. If you try to save everyone, you will end up saving far less than if you were smart and careful about it"

Harry nodded but Hermione could see he was barely listening. She growled in frustration and shook him as if to get the message through to him. He looked startled but she hissed, "Harry James Potter, you will listen to me very carefully! You are NOT a failure. I don't know what you've been through but you will not be a self pity martyr. As you heard we have a chance to save people now, don't let your past pain restrict the present and future!"

Harry looked at Hermione with awe and smile lightly, thankful for her strong words.

"Alright, what do we have to do?"

The old man smiled a giant grin which for once chased away the eerie look he seemed to hold and Harry and Hermione could both see a more youthful person coming up from him, like an old echo gaining form again.

They were both still very confused but one thing was clear. They both had something that made this man trust them for something big. The man felt trustworthy, they could not really explain it but something about him made them feel comfortable. Besides he was powerful enough to make them listen if he wanted to, he clearly did not intend any harm.

Hermione was bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement when a massive bookshelf filled with scrolls and books appeared in front of them. The old man grinned at Harry's slightly annoyed look. He loved reading, but this many?

His attitude changed when the first book opened and he was dumped into a scene.

* * *

**A/N**: First off I have never tripped so I dunno if it turned out right, but its magic and a potion not really drugs for fun so… Don't worry if you do not understand everything. Please ask if you do not understand a major aspect though.

Can you beta? If you can please message me. (PTBU would be better than this story) I make no money off of this, so I appreciate kind or helpful reviews.


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